Love will find a way
by HermiHugs
Summary: My idea of how Harry Potter's sixth year should have happened. With Hermione by his side, he trains in advanced battle transfiguration, charms and dueling. Story contains most of the events depicted in Half Blood Prince with my own twist.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Harry Potter was a very tired wizard. Being hunted by the most powerful dark lord and his minions does that to even the best in the trade. Add to this that he is just a sixteen year old, having 'celebrated' his birthday confined to his room without any food; he was not in the best of moods. After a painful fifth year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, being labeled a deranged individual and tortured at the hands of Dolores Umbridge, ministry employee and high inquisitor of Hogwarts; he was dumped in the hell on earth called his relatives house. The loss of Sirius Black, the closest person that he had to a family, his godfather felt as a hammer blow to his already tortured soul.

The summer has not been kind to him, repetitive nightmares of his godfather's death and visions of his friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger being killed by Voldemort and his death eaters threatened his sanity. The few days of respite at the Burrow house of the Weasley family did nothing much to alleviate his suffering. The constant bickering of his two friends over things of no importance was a constant source of added pain to Harry.

With the revelation of the return of Voldemort to the land of the living, the same people who branded Harry a liar and an attention seeking brat started looking up to him as 'the chosen one' to rid the world of evil. Conveniently forgetting that he is only a 16 year old, people of importance in his life, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore or his Surrogate uncle Remus Lupin did not provide any means of comfort to his aching heart. Instead of a warm motherly embrace he was left smothered in the bear hug of the matronly Molly Weasley. The overpowering feeling of suffocation from all sides left him to find solace in the company of books, a feat which shocked Hermione, the resident bookworm of Gryffindor house.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione "If you had shown such an interest before our exams you would have scored much better on your O.".

Harry's own thoughts were not much different from Hermione's outburst. The result of his incessant ruminations at Number 4 Privet Drive during his solitary 'confinement' left Harry with the inevitable conclusion that he has to make serious efforts to study hard and learn to fight better. Not that Harry did badly on his exams; but the 'outstanding' on his potions O.W.L. required to get into the Auror program eluded him. Now he was left wondering why he even wanted to get into the Auror program. 'If I ever survive Voldemort would I want to keep looking over my shoulder in constant danger?' thought Harry.

"Hermione, leave the poor bloke alone. He has enough on his plate wondering about getting into the quidditch team without you bossing him about his studies. Besides he did not get such a lecture from Sirius why would he want one from you" Ron put in this two cents worth.

'insensitive git' thought Hermione 'why do I still put up with him? It's a wonder that I find myself falling for him.' She found herself gravitating towards her red-haired friend even though she harbored a huge crush on Harry right from the moment she laid her eyes on the raven haired wizard five years ago. This was an ongoing battle in her mind as to whom of her two friends, would be best suited as a boyfriend for her.

"Gee Thanks Ron. That makes me feel so much better" replied Harry before moving away from the duo. Ron's insensitive comments about his study habits or lack thereof, and the still painful remainder of his dead godfather, forced his feet to walk down the narrow path to the small pond on the edge of the Burrow's boundaries. Sitting there in the gathering dusk Harry contemplated his life so far and the near impossible task laid out by fate for him.

The blade of fate hanging on his neck was also one of the reasons for Harry's increased studiousness. Having spent most of his schooling goofing about and overcoming obstacles more by luck and Hermione's help than his own skill, Harry knew that he has to buckle down and get serious if he had to have a decent chance of surviving to his twentieth birthday.

He has not spoken of the dreaded prophecy with his friends yet. He feared that they would distance themselves from him. 'Who would be willing to associate themselves with a walking trouble magnet' thought Harry. Though he was afraid for their wellbeing, he was far more afraid of their rejection. He needed his friends, especially Hermione, who was a constant source of encouragement and help, not to mention the sole source of strength to him. Always ready to help him out either with such trivial matters as his homework to escaping dangers with his limbs intact, Hermione was his constant companion and best friend.

Being in the constant company of a smart, caring and a pretty girl has an effect on every teenage boy and Harry found himself slowly but surely falling for his best female friend. However, he knew that Hermione has feelings for his other friend Ron. Best friends do not encroach on the other's crushes, so Harry buried his feelings and did his best to act normal between the two and carried on as a supportive best friend should. Besides what guarantees does he have for a surviving the next battle with Voldemort and a secure life, 'none what so ever' sighed Harry.

'Tonight' Harry decided. 'Tonight I will tell them about the prophecy and then I will let them choose. I do not have a choice, but I owe them this much' with that thought Harry returned to the warmth of the Burrow and the smell of Molly's cooking.

* * *

><p>Later that night in Ron's room Harry took the opportunity to tell his friends about the prophecy and gave them the opportunity to distance themselves from him if they so decide.<p>

"Bloody hell mate! 'The chosen one', you will have all the girls clamoring for you. You can have the pick of the pretty ones, Lucky you." Like a knife plunging into his heart Ron's comment hurt Harry more than he imagined. Whatever he thought would be Ron's reaction to the prophecy this was not it.

Hermione was in tears but found a scathing comment to Ron's immature outburst.

"Ron don't be an idiot. We are talking about fighting You-know-who and you are worried about fan girls. We have to help Harry prepare for the fight and your childish behavior is not helping any one."

Ron though, was not placated "the prophecy clearly states that Harry will defeat him. Don't worry mate you will have all the help from Dumbledore I am sure. After all, the fate of the wizarding world is on your shoulders. Dumbledore must be crazy if he does not help you."

'Ugh!' Harry mentally screamed. 'Why do I put up with him? That git does not care that I can die. All he cares is about the fame and girls.' Through the years of his friendship with Ron, he allowed him to dictate terms and more often than not he found at the receiving end of his jealousy. The distractions of playing chess or discussing quidditch with Ron were a great source of entertainment and relaxation, but left him with mediocre results in his classwork. But now was the time for Harry to take a decision and step up to the plate if he has to survive the war. It was then that Harry decided to slowly distance himself from Ron, both for his own sanity as well as Ron's health. He was sure that he will not be able to rein in his temper around the redhead in his 'prat' mode.

His musings were interrupted by a crushing hug from Hermione. "Don't worry Harry. I will be there with you and help you in whatever way I can. Ron is right though; we will contact Dumbledore as soon as we get back to Hogwarts and ask for training help. We will be ready" proclaimed Hermione with conviction.

"Blimey! More work" was Ron's only comment.

"Thanks Hermione. Dumbledore mentioned that I will be taking extra lessons with him. Thought he did not mention what the lessons will be, I am sure they will be great help. I still need all the help I can get though. You can never be short on preparedness."

Silence reigned in the room with the trio occupied with their own thoughts. Two of the three were more interested in devising plans towards surviving the oncoming war they were sure to face, while the third were pleasantly occupied towards using the current knowledge to bag a 'cute chick'.

They were roused by the kitchen clock chiming a late hour and Hermione scrambled to get to the room she was sharing with Ginny. With a curt "good night guys" she was out of the room leaving the boys to sort out their sleeping accommodations.

"Wow! Imagine Harry all the girls tripping over themselves to get to know us. We can have the pick of all Hogwarts." With that parting comment Ron snores drowned the quite of the burrow.

* * *

><p>The remaining days till school were filled with studies and occasional games of pick up quidditch with the inhabitants of the burrow for Harry. The only though that Hermione could spare for Harry was 'Poor Harry he has had to grow up fast'. But, as promised, Hermione took time to help Harry with his studies learning about advanced dueling techniques and spells that can help in a battle. Harry was grateful for her help but could not help look with a stab of pain when he observed Hermione mooning over Ron and getting to a point where she was almost ready to throw herself at his feet in order to get him to notice her. Ron oblivious of Hermione's feelings continued to make snide comments about her study habits and things important to her.<p>

Harry could not stop wondering about the subtle efforts of Hermione to garner Ron's attention. For a very bright witch she had her own insecurities which were of no help in deciding on a boyfriend. The constant bickering between the two was also providing comic relief to the Weasley twins and they did their best to encourage such confrontations.

As the days neared September, the excitement of school reached a feverish pitch for Hermione and her desire to spend more time with Ron meant that she was slowly waning on her promise to help Harry with his studies. Harry's resolution to keep away from Ron also increased this distance with the only time he was able to spend with Hermione was either eating or studying. Harry was disheartened by Hermione's behavior but kept his feelings to himself and tried to slowly distance himself from both Ron and Hermione, hoping for the best for his two friends even though it may give him pain.

'How can she tolerate such a behavior from Ron? Even being the smartest witch of the generation did not prevent her from falling for a moron' such thoughts were Harry's constant companions during the remaining days of August.

The thought of 'I guess love surely is blind' was his only consolation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

The day every student returned to Hogwarts for the start of a new school year dawned dark and dreary with ominous clouds. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny with their packed belongings entered the train to the accompanying pitter patter of falling rain. Ginny immediately left the trio to sit with her boyfriend Dean Thomas leaving the others to look for a free compartment. Threading through the students, they reached a compartment with only Neville and Luna and joined them.

After exchanging greetings and pleasantries regarding the summer, Ron and Hermione left the compartment for the prefect's carriage and their meeting for the oncoming year. Luna got busy reading a copy of the Quibbler, and with Neville busy reading a book on Herbology, Harry was left to his own devices to spend his time. The heavy rain filled clouds outside did not improve Harry's morose mood. The reports in the newspapers regarding the threat of Voldemort and the constant references to Harry being the 'chosen one' did not improve Harry's raging emotions. The wizarding world is again calling him a savior after a year of insults calling him a delusional fool and shunning him.

Inevitably, as has been the norm these days, his thoughts turned towards a certain bushy haired witch. He could not help but feel that Hermione was headed towards a disappointment. The odds that Ron would grow up and accept Hermione with all her quirks, for the brilliant person she is, were very poor at best. The current Ron is focused on going through life with the minimum of effort on his part which is in sharp contrast to the almost pathologically hard working Hermione.

Harry also was not in favour of Hermione changing herself to suit Ron's habits. Any relationship that is based on false pretenses by either party is doomed for failure Harry mused. 'Yep, either way Hermione is headed for a heart break. Hope she wakes up soon before she falls too deep into the trap.'

'Think of the devil….'

Sounds of an argument heralded the arrival of Hermione and Ron into the shared compartment after finishing their prefect duties.

"I am telling you Ron, the rule of not allowing your brother's products on the train has a reason. People could be injured by them in the confined space. Moreover, there is no readily available medical aid" ranted Hermione.

"Oh get off your high horse Hermione. If you cannot loosen yourself enough to have some fun, it does not mean you have to stop others from having fun" countered Ron.

Plopping herself on the cushion beside Harry, Hermione continued "No Ron, all rules are made for a reason. It is our duty as prefects to enforce them."

"Come on Hermione, we have broken a lot of rules before. You can let the kids have some fun with magic" argued Ron.

"No Ron, I know we broke some rules, but they were under some very extenuating circumstances. Now I am a prefect and if the authorities determine that a rule has to be enforced, I will do it. Besides, all the rules are made after much deliberation and they are for our benefit" retorted Hermione.

Harry was compelled to join the argument here "Not necessarily Hermione, rules are more like a code to live an ordered life rather than iron clad commandments that have to be followed. I agree that in this instance you are absolutely right about not allowing dangerous products onto the train, but I do not agree that rules or even in some instances, written instructions are to be blindly followed."

Hermione was not one to be swayed easily, "what about the rules for governing our lives Harry? Do you mean to say that the rules of magic are not necessary and that the instructions to be followed to perform a spell are not needed?" questioned Hermione.

"Now you are taking things way out of context, I would not go as far as to say that the rules of magic are not to be followed but I would gladly follow alternate methods that have been proven to work. Even though they are different from the accepted norms, don't you agree that's the way new things are discovered or improved?" reasoned Harry.

Hermione just 'harrumphed' her displeasure evident on her face and pulled out a book to read. Harry had the distinct impression that she was not placated and just wanted to avoid further argument which he was happy to comply. Little did he know that the argument would come back to bite him hard. Declining to join a game of exploding snap, Harry struck to his own 'rule' to distance himself from Ron and slowly nodded off to a nap.

* * *

><p>Scenes in the great hall of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry followed the familiar chaotic pattern of previous years. After the incoming first years were sorted into their respective houses, the feast began with Ron diving into the food with gusto.<p>

Hermione wrinkled her nose disgustedly at Ron and turned to Harry sitting beside her, "do you know who the new professor sitting beside professor Snape is?"

"He is the new teacher for potions, professor Slughorn"

"If he is teaching potions, then what will professor Snape do?" Ron questioned.

"A single guess to what" replied Harry. Any further discussion was silenced by Professor Dumbledore announcing the appointment of Horace Slughorn as Head of the Slytherin house and potions teacher while announcing Professor Snape as the new Defence Against Dark Arts instructor. This announcement generated loud groans from most of the student body except the Slytherins. As the feast wind down the students began to look forward for the signal that ended the feast allowing them to retire for the night.

"Mr. Potter please come with me to my office" Professor McGonagall said reaching Harry's side through the retreating students. Both Hermione and Ron who were escorting the new students turned away to lead the students towards the Gryffindor tower.

Once inside her office, Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and regarded him with a critical eye and began "How are you holding Mr. Potter?" Seeing the surprised look on his face her face betrayed a wry smile. "I may be a strict academician Mr. Potter, but I also like to look after my students. Though Sirius was a prankster making my life difficult during his tenure here, I cannot help but feel the sorrow after his demise. He along with your parents and Remus Lupin were a few of my favourite students".

Harry could not help the few tears that made their way down his cheeks. Scrubbing them furiously away, he was rewarded with a sympathetic gesture from his head of house. She was the first adult to even say a few words to placate his wounded feelings.

"I am doing as well as can be expected professor. Time has certainly dulled the pain". He could not keep the bitterness out of his next words "Though a few more gestures of support would have been greatly helped and appreciated".

If McGonagall was surprised at the tone of his words she hid it well. Years of schooling her features certainly helped her in that endeavor. She could only hope that Harry will find the peace for his aching heart with his friends. Little did she know about the growing rift among the fabled 'golden trio'.

"Mr. Potter, I am here to talk about your career choice as an Auror. As you know Professor Snape required an 'Outstanding' grade to accept students into his N.E.W.T class. However, Professor Slughorn accepts students with 'Exceeds Expectations'. As such you are eligible to take the class if you wish.

Harry was overjoyed to hear this piece of news "I would be delighted to professor. But I did not buy the required text or potion supplies" replied Harry.

"Not to worry Mr. Potter, the school has a few extra books for emergency use. You can find one for use before you can owl order your personal copy. As for the potion supplies, most of the ingredients used for the N.E.W.T level are restricted and are supplied by the school. So do not fret over that."

Getting an enthusiastic nod from him, Professor McGonagall continued "now to the matter of your quidditch ban. The board of governors revoked all the decrees passed by the erstwhile high inquisitor and this includes your lifetime ban. I welcome you back to the seeker position Mr. Potter and I also wish that you accept the mantle of the captain as well".

Now Harry was torn, he did want to play quidditch as he loved flying but felt that he will be wasting time on trivial matters. 'Yes, I love flying, but in quidditch I spend most of the time flying by myself. I guess I can still do that even if I am not a part of the team. Moreover, I will have the added benefit of not getting injured'. Having thought on the matter for a few moments he voiced his opinion "I thank you professor. But I think that I will decline both your offers. I do not think I would like to spend my time on such unnecessary matters".

McGonagall sighed "I expected such a decision from you after my talk with Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Potter. But I wish that you think over it and hopefully you will give me a favourable answer".

Though Harry's mind was made up he did not want to continue the argument and saying that he would give it a thought he rose from the seat to leave. Before he exited the room he had a request "Professor, I read that transfiguration spells can play an important role in battles, can you please teach me advanced transfiguration that I can use in a duel? Also I would like your help in training to be an animagus".

McGonagall could only gape at Harry which elicited a wry smile on his lips. After collecting herself and acquiescing to his request with a promise to meet shortly, Harry was dismissed for the night.

On the trip back to the Gryffindor dormitories Harry could not help but think about the reactions to his decision among his friends. 'Hermione will be so proud of me'. That though put a dampener in his spirits though 'I really do hope that there will be a day that Hermione will take the time to talk to me. Only then can she know what I have planned'.

Tired from the day's activities Harry finally reached his bed to fall onto it, the only thought going through his mind was 'I hope that this year is less crazy than the last'.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

**Author's Note: I have unashamedly 'borrowed' parts of this chapter from 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince'. these phrases have been highlighted in bold letters. I apologize to everyone in advance if I have inadvertently ruffled some feathers the wrong way.**

The students of Hogwarts slowly settled into the daily routine of classes, homework and a little bit of fun. Harry held to his commitment of increased training and preparedness spending most of his free time in the library and arranged with professors Flitwick and McGonagall to learn new ways for effective dueling and increased fitness.

All the teachers were stressing the importance of the upcoming NEWTs. for their future and so the curriculum was intense. For a change due to his refined study habits, Harry found his classes easy and was able to match Hermione most of the time. Surprisingly, Snape turned out to be an excellent teacher for DADA. Based on the O.W.L score where most of the students scored either 'O' or 'E', thanks to Harry's efforts in the D.A, Snape introduced the students to Wordless spells and wandless magic which could be a huge advantage in battles. Since he got his wish of being a DADA instructor his demeanor was far from the 'greasy git' they were used to. Harry was as usual the first to master most of the new instruction where he was by far the acknowledged leader by the students.

* * *

><p>The arrival of Monday heralded the first potions class for the new school year. Harry was unusually excited "I hope that I will be able to learn something in potions, now that the overgrown bat is not there".<p>

"Harry language" admonished Hermione on the way to the dungeons. But even her remarks did not dampen his spirits.

Arriving at the dungeons, they spotted only a handful of people, including Malfoy and three other Slytherins, waiting to get into the class. May be due to the absence of his lackeys Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy was for once silent when he spotted the Gryffindor trio. Before anyone could open their mouths, the door was thrown open and were greeted by the portly Slughorn and ushered inside. In front of the class were multiple cauldrons with bubbling potions. Harry along with Ron and Hermione shared a table near a gold cauldron which they sniffed interestedly and Harry was assaulted by a smell that reminded him of treacle tart, woody smell of a broomstick handle and a powerful flowery aroma which immediately reminded him of Hermione. He felt great contentment which eluded him for a long time, a feeling which he often felt in the presence of the bushy haired witch.

Breaking away from these thoughts, Harry saw Professor Slughorn lumbering up to the table and his portly figure was wavering eerily through the vapours being emitted from the cauldrons on the table. "Now then, everyone, Scales and potion kits out. Don't forget your copies of Advanced Potion-Making. . . ."

"Sir?" Harry interrupted the lecture, raising his hand.

"Harry, my boy?" a jovial Slughorn responded much to the Harry's chagrin, 'except for the one meeting, the man does not know me and now he is acting as if he is my best friend' Harry thought viciously.

"I did not purchase my copy of the book as I did not expect to get into the class sir. Professor McGonagall said that I could borrow a copy from the school stock till I get my own copy."

"Ah! Yes, I was told to expect this for you and Mr. Weasley here. Not to worry you can use the ingredients from the store cupboard and we have got a small stock of old books here. Go ahead and get them so that we can start".

While Slughorn was rooting around the cupboard for a text, Ron went ahead first and grabbed a relatively new copy of the text almost pushing the portly man away, while Slughorn handed Harry a fairly battered copy of the text. Even though the copy was old it showed much use rather than abuse. The pages were filled with comments and modifications to the typed instructions for potion brewing, in a neat hand, decidedly feminine. It looked as if the previous owner was not happy with some of the steps and added their own modifications. He looked for a name but found out that the first page was torn away leaving him without a clue to the previous owner.

"Instead of starting off and make a potion, I want to test your knowledge first then we will see about your brewing skills, a pop quiz." Gleefully rubbing his hands together, Slughorn gestured at the cauldrons in which the potions were merrily bubbling away, "you may not have brewed these before but by now you should be able to identify them. By the end of this year you will be brewing them too if you are competent enough. Now, can anyone tell me what this is?"

He indicated the cauldron that was the first in line. Unable to judge properly, Harry lifted himself off his seat and walked up to the cauldron to have a clear view. He should have guessed that Hermione would have no such problems as her hand was stretched to its maximum reminiscent of her enthusiasm during their very first potions class with Snape. Getting the go ahead from the professor she identified it as the truth potion, Veritaserum.

"Five points to Gryffindor my dear, now who can tell me what this is? I believe some of you may have heard about it a couple of years ago" he questioned pointing to the second cauldron.

Hermione's hand was fastest once more. This time Harry too raised his hand as he recognized the slow-bubbling mud like concoction. Before he could answer though "lt's Polyjuice Potion, sir," she said, but he did not resent Hermione getting the credit for answering the question; she, after all, was the one who had succeeded in making it, back in their second year.

Ignoring most of the students now, Slughorn merely signaled Hermione for the answer to the third potion on the table and she did not disappoint him.

"It's Amortentia!" gushed Hermione.

"Indeed. Is it wrong for me to guess that you know what it does?" said Slughorn, who was looking mightily impressed.

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world! Though it is illegal to administer to underage people, it has been used to create strong feelings of lust or infatuation" said Hermione.

"Yes, quite right therefore it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room….."

Tuning out the droning voice of Slughorn while he was lecturing about the properties of the potion, Harry turned to his book looking for the particular subject. Under the heading he noticed the phrase written by the previous owner proclaiming, '_love by potion; poison to the heart_'. He could not suppress a chuckle admitting to the truth of the phrase, earning a dig in his ribs from Hermione. He compared the colour of the potion which was described as 'distinctive mother-of pearl sheen' and the characteristic spiraling steam rising from the surface of the brewing potion. He continued to read about the potion absently noting that it really does not create love, nothing could after all, just causes an obsession and can also be specifically targeted to a particular person by including the hairs of the subject just like in polyjuice potion.

He briefly wondered if a potion is what it will take for Hermione to get Ron interested in her. He ruthlessly squashed the revolting idea as he wistfully hoped that Hermione would notice that, he, her other friend was also a boy and was deeply in love with her.

Hermione's thoughts were more pleasantly engaged, 'I can smell freshly mown grass, parchment and something different. Something that I have encountered before, I would have thought that I would smell something that reminds me of Ron. This is different, definitely not belonging to Ron. But what and where did I smell it before …..' her musings were cut short by Slughorn asking, "May I ask your name, my dear?"

Trying to hide the blush that threatened to be seen, she replied "Hermione Granger, sir"

**"Oho! 'One of my best friends is Muggle-born, and she's the best in our year!' I'm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?"**

**"Yes, sir," said Harry.**

**"Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger," said Slughorn genially.**

**Hermione turned to Harry with a radiant expression and whispered, "Did you really tell him I'm the best in the year? Oh, Harry!"**

**"Well, what's so impressive about that?" whispered Ron, who for some reason looked annoyed. "You are the best in the year – I would have told him so if he'd asked me!"**

Harry rolled his eyes at the immaturity of Ron, he was always making fun of and bickered with her over her study habits, even calling her an 'annoying know-it-all' and here he was trying to gain brownie points. 'Oh! The irony of it all' bemoaned Harry. Luckily his actions were not spotted by either of his two friends. Their attention was immediately focused on Slughorn who announced that the students should start brewing today's potion.

Before they could even know what was to be brewed, Ernie Macmillan a Ravenclaw, who reminded Harry of pompous Percy Weasley, asked the question that may have been on the tongues of most of the students.

**"Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," said Ernie Macmillan, pointing at a small black cauldron standing on Slughorn's desk. The potion within was splashing about merrily; it was the color of molten gold, and large drops were leaping like goldfish above the surface, though not a particle had spilled.**

**"Oho," said Slughorn again. Harry was sure that Slughorn had not forgotten the potion at all, but had waited to be asked for dramatic effect.**

**"Yes. That. Well, that one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it," he turned, smiling, to look at Hermione, who had let out an audible gasp, "that you know what Felix Felicis does, Miss Granger?"**

**"It's liquid luck," said Hermione excitedly. "It makes you lucky!"**

**The whole class seemed to sit up a little straighter. Now all Harry could see Malfoy was the back of his sleek blond head, because he was at last giving Slughorn his full and undivided attention.**

**"And that," said Slughorn, "is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson", taking a minuscule glass bottle with a cork in it out of his pocket and showing it to them all. "Enough for twelve hours' luck. From dawn till dusk, you will be lucky in everything you attempt."**

The task set before them was to brew the draught of living death, which usually takes about an hour to brew. Everyone scrambled to get to a table for their cauldrons and potion making kits. Harry found that the previous owner of the book made some valuable suggestions regarding the quality of the ingredients to be used in the potion. Harry was vaguely reminded of Aunt Petunia's comment, 'a rotten egg does not make a good omelet ….or something to that effect'. This was good advice considering his considerable skill in the kitchen, earned the hard way under her tutelage. Therefore, he took extra care to select only the best looking of the ingredients, which resulted in a raised eyebrow and a look of contemplation from Hermione.

Harry never understood the reasons for the location of the potions lab in the dungeons. One of the drawbacks of having the potions class in the dungeons was the clear lack of adequate ventilation. This was quickly evident with the whole place filled with bluish steam emanating from the brewing potions. As usual Hermione was the quickest and judging by the "smooth, black currant" colour of her potion Harry correctly assumed that she was nearing halfway through the process.

**Having finished chopping his roots, Harry bent low over his book again. It was really very irritating, having to try and decipher the directions under all the stupid scribbles of the previous owner, who for some reason had taken issue with the order to cut up the sopophorous bean and had written in the alternative instruction: **_**Crush with flat side of silver dagger, releases juice better than cutting.**_

'What is it with girls and their scribbling' he thought annoyed,** but the sopophorous bean was proving very difficult to cut up. Harry gave up the effort and decided to follow the new instruction; after all it's just a matter of getting the required juice. To his astonishment, it immediately exuded so much juice he was amazed the shriveled bean could have held it all. Hastily scooping it all into the cauldron he saw, to his surprise, that the potion immediately turned exactly the shade of lilac described by the textbook.**

**His annoyance with the previous owner vanishing on the spot, Harry now squinted at the next line of instructions. **Quickly deciding to follow the few simple changes that have been made to the text by the previous owner, Harry bent down to his work with renewed enthusiasm. He saw that Hermione was checking up on his work and was scowling at him whenever he deviated from the printed instructions. He shrugged his shoulders at the blatant display of reproof from Hermione and continued his potion making, getting a perfect potion as described by the book.

Coming to the end of his potion making he heard Ron's fluent cursing and hazarding a look into his cauldron saw something which was definitely not the required potion. Apart from Hermione's potion which was nearly the same as his, except for an unnoticeable difference in the colour, none of the others managed to brew a passable potion.

After the allotted time, the professor moved around the tables commenting about the potions or rather failure to make the potion. Making occasional notes in his register, he approached the table that Harry was sharing with Ron and Hermione.

Ruefully shaking his head at Ron's attempt he said, "Mr. Weasley your grade in the O.W.L was just enough to get you into my class. If you do not make giant strides during the year, I am afraid you will not be able to pass your NEWTs."

Taking the ladle and stirring Hermione's potion he gave her an approving nod and marked something which suspiciously looked like a 'O' against her name. Checking Harry's cauldron he had a beaming smile on his genial face, "My word Harry! I have not seen a better potion making ability like this in many years. I was told by Professor Snape that you have two left hands when it comes to potion making. I can see that he was wrong. You have definitely inherited your mother's skill; she was also a genius at potions and took great pleasure in improving them. Excellent, here, you are the winner" handing him the bottle of Felix Felicis, Slughorn moved back to his table giving them the dismissal.

Harry was feeling happy that for once he could brew a potion without any mistakes and without the interference of Snape or the Slytherins. He also acknowledged the validity of the modifications made by the unknown author; he treated them as shortcuts rather than changes to the brewing process, shortcuts which certainly made his life easy. He was hoping that Hermione would be happy with his accomplishment; he could always rely on her to praise his new and improved performance in the classes.

He was however taken aback by the expression of anger on her face. He honestly could not understand the reason for her anger. Was it because of his using the written instructions instead of the typed text? Or was it because he upstaged her for the first time and she did not like it? Hermione was a girl who always prided herself in her thirst for knowledge and here was knowledge, albeit unknown to most, which helped him gaining the prize. 'Knowledge is knowledge regardless of its source, right?' he thought rhetorically. One look at Hermione's anger however and he knew that she did not feel the same. With a sigh he pocketed the vial and followed a still fuming Hermione and a downtrodden Ron out of the dungeons.

The moment they stepped away from prying eyes Hermione rounded off on Harry. Red faced she exclaimed "Harry! How could you do that? You did not follow the written instructions and did a dangerous thing by following untried and hand written instructions. Can't you see it is this attitude of yours to go halfcocked on a spur of the moment decision that leads us into trouble?"

"Hermione, Yes I know that the instructions were different from that of the given text. But even you cannot deny that progress cannot be made until new discoveries are made. The owner of the text has definitely tried the modifications and achieved the desired results. Otherwise why would they be written down in a textbook? You have seen the result Hermione can you deny it?" Harry tried to placate Hermione.

Hermione was beyond angry now "if the modifications were really effective, why were they not made available to all? The book is clearly old, it means that the information was present for a lot of time now. Rules and clear instructions are there for a reason. You do not deserve to get the potion you did not even understand what the instructions are for and what the combination of the ingredients do."

"I suppose you think I cheated? Rules are not everything Hermione", the moment Harry made that comment he instinctively knew that he made a big mistake. He knew she was a stickler to rules and authority. His comment did not sit well with her and she immediately turned her back on him and rushed off to the library.

"Sorry mate, you know what she thinks about breaking rules" commented Ron before he sauntered away. Harry could see that Ron was jealous of him for winning the prize and was trying hard to hide it from Harry. He could sense a smug grin on Ron's face after Hermione berated him and shaking his head at Ron's jealousy headed to the library to get some studying done before dinner.

Harry was not sorry though. 'Did I do it only to get the liquid luck? No, I tried the instructions in the book and when it did not work, I tried a modification. I did nothing wrong.' He refused to feel guilty. He believed that the modifications were made by someone who knew the subject. He however agreed with Hermione on one thing. He really did not know what the modifications really did to the potion, and what the roles of the ingredients are in the potion. However, it was not his fault if Snape did not take the time to teach the basic things to the students. 'I need to know what the different stirring motions do to the potion. If I do not know the reason for the ingredients to be used in the potion then it definitely is cheating. Sigh! One more subject to research in the library and increase my efforts in'. With that Harry resolved to increase his understanding the 'subtle art of potion making' as Snape put it in his first year.

* * *

><p>Harry tried to placate Hermione and tried to show her the book. He wanted her to understand that the modifications made to the brewing instructions were nothing major and definitely nothing dangerous. He had a nagging suspicion that she was making a conscious effort to avoid him. He was not sure if that was just due to her penchant for sticking to the rules or something else. Harry was disheartened by Hermione's behavior but resolved to settle his differences with her as far as he can.<p>

That night Harry cornered her in the common room before going up to bed. But Hermione was adamant and told him in no uncertain terms that she would not be reasoned with and would only talk to him on that matter if he gives up following the modifications. This was a point on which Harry was not ready to compromise; the short amount of time that he spent in the library has shown him that the characteristics of the potion do change even with changes in the direction of the stirring motion. He was determined to study the text fully and make an informed decision on it before giving it up. Therefore, it was two disgruntled friends that went to bed that night.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Hermione was not in a mood to forgive Harry even on the next day. She deliberately avoided him and only talked to him during their classes and that too only regarding the course work. Harry was troubled that his friendship with Hermione has hit a very low point and was afraid of ever regaining the closeness that they enjoyed for five long years. He however did not have much time to reflect on this matter due to his training sessions with Professor Flitwick for advanced dueling on Monday and Thursday and with Professor McGonagall on Tuesday and Friday.

During breakfast Harry received a note from Professor Dumbledore that said:

_Dear Harry,_

_I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at 8 P.M. I hope you are enjoying your first day back at school._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops._

He quickly stuffed the note into his pocket as Ron was trying to read it. Though Ron was oblivious to Harry's changed behavior towards his friend, Harry was still not comfortable with Ron's attitude and made no effort to reconcile with him. His only regret was losing Hermione's company.

The strained relationship between them was driving him to the library more often which helped him to learn more about potion making than what he learned in the previous five years under Snape's tutelage. The different interactions between the ingredients reminded him of his science class in the primary school which fascinated him. Reading through different texts gave him an idea why mixing certain ingredients cause a cauldron to blow up and what measures can be taken to prevent such accidents. This gave him a new confidence in his potion making abilities and decided to pay particular attention in Slughorn's class to make sure that he deserved the prize that he won in the first class.

* * *

><p>Thursday evening brought him to the meeting with Professor Flitwick. Harry was introduced to fitness exercises to build up his physical strength and also dodging exercises. They also had a dueling session in which Harry was demolished. He realized that he was easily tired and promised the diminutive professor to start jogging to increase his stamina and muscle strengthening exercises from the next morning. He decided to use the Room of requirement as a muggle gym for this purpose.<p>

Meanwhile, Hermione was troubled by her reaction to the Amortentia. She was sure that she should have smelled something about Ron but was unable to recognize the unknown scent that overwhelmed her. She even 'accidentally' tripped and fell into Ron's arms during their prefect rounds but was not confronted with the scent that she identified when she inhaled Amortentia. This bothered her as she liked to have answers to all her questions especially if they concerned her.

Then there was her reaction to Harry's use of the modifications to the printed text, looking back she could not explain even to herself what she now considered as an extreme reaction from her. She is very restrained normally and her explosion at Harry bothered her, was that due to the fact that Ron failed so spectacularly at potions or something else? Her self-imposed exile from Harry however, was proving to be a curse to her. She was finding him often in the library where he commandeered a table (away from her usual table) for himself and was usually found immersed in books. The only place she was able to freely talk to him was before classes and that too was reduced to greetings only. She found to her dismay that this resulted in her spending more and more time with Ron. This would have been a blessing to her if not for the disturbing reaction to Amortentia. Her resolve to stay away from Harry was most tested when she found herself in arguments with Ron that were happening with increasing frequency due to the distinct lack of Harry's calming presence.

* * *

><p>Friday evening brought Harry to the office of Professor McGonagall. While Professor Flitwick was jovial and fun loving, he was confronted with the stern demeanor of the transfiguration professor as soon as he entered her office. In her no nonsense voice she questioned, "Why and how do you think that transfiguration can play a role in a duel Mr. Potter?"<p>

Harry had his answer ready as he spent a lot of his time trying to figure out his short comings "Last year during the battle at the ministry, I saw Professor Dumbledore transfiguring rubble into granite blocks to block unforgivable curses. He also animated the statue in the ministry atrium to shield me. They proved very effective."

"Yes Mr. Potter that is the most common defense against the killing curse. In addition, you can also conjure solid objects like chairs, bricks etc. in the path of the curse to block it. You can also transfigure items like rocks into weapons like a sword, or sticks into rocks that can be used to knock out opponents. As you may know conjuration will only be taught to you in the seventh year, but I will teach you soon so that you can master it effectively. Conjuration has one distinct advantage in a battle. Can you identify it for me?"

It did not take long for Harry to identify the limitless potential that conjuration can provide. "Yes Ma'am it can drastically reduce the amount of things that you need to carry everywhere. If you can conjure a heady item like a knife or a dagger, it can greatly reduce the load you need to carry. Not to mention you can theoretically have a limitless supply of weapons."

"Yes, theoretically, however conjuration uses a lot of magic so a person tires out easily. Your training will also focus on your judgment to successfully use transfiguration and conjuration during a duel without exhausting yourself."

With that Harry got a crash course in transfiguring simple items which took him through the entire five year curriculum in a matter of minutes. He was thankful that he remembered most of the spells as they had their O. a few months ago otherwise he would have had tongue lashing from the head of his house. He realized that the simple exercise taxed him more than he imagined.

"See Harry, even a simple exercise like this has you panting. I suggest you increase your physical fitness and stamina by following an exercise regimen. I am still surprised how skinny and under nourished you look. I am surprised at your height also. Both your parents were taller than you; I would have guessed that you would reach at least your mother's height."

This was what he was dreading and now he was forced to admit his lack of decent meals during his pre-Hogwarts years and his stay at Dursley's during summer. The revelation brought forth a stream of native Gaelic that Harry was fortunate he could not understand; otherwise he was sure to be scarred for life.

Calming down McGonagall said "I am sorry Harry. I tried to tell the headmaster not to leave you with them. But he decided that it was the safest place for you to stay. Now we can only hope that you can regain the lost growth that you should have had. I suggest you talk to Madam Pomfrey and start taking nutrition potions to augment your diet."

"Thank you Professor" was all a grateful Harry could say.

"Now have you decided on coming back to play quidditch?"

"I thought about it and I am sorry Professor. The training that I have taken upon myself will not leave me enough free time to play. I am sure that there are enough players in Gryffindor to get together a decent team."

"All right I respect your decision. Can you do me a favour and put up the announcement for tryouts in the common room when you get back there" she said handing him a parchment. "Good night Mr. Potter"

"Good night Professor and thank you"

"It's alright Harry. Oh! Before you go, I will talk to Horace about brewing the animagus revealing potion. This will keep your quest a secret and since it takes about six weeks it is for the best. Do you want anyone else with you for this?"

"Thank you professor, I am sure that Hermione would like to try I can ask her and let you know. Good night professor" with that Harry left to the Gryffindor tower with a spring in his step happy that he has made definite progress in achieving his goals.

* * *

><p>Next Monday brought Harry to the dungeons and it was with no less trepidation that he entered the potions class. He desperately hoped to avoid further confrontations with Hermione over the potions text book that he acquired. He was still not willing to give it up as it helped him immensely in understanding the mechanics of potion brewing. Hermione was able to get over her annoyance at Harry and called a truce giving them both a chance to resolve the tension between them. Though she did not for once accept the changes in the brewing instructions made by the unknown author as possibly better than the regular steps, she conceded not to bring the argument up again.<p>

"OK class, we will be brewing a complex burn cure salve today. You know what to do, gather your ingredients and start brewing. The process will take you more than an hour, so no dawdling" was all the 'instructions' they received from Slughorn.

Harry joined the other students in gathering his share of the ingredients after going through the list. He rejoined Hermione and Ron on the table and took care to sort through the ingredients and select only the best of the lot. This action did not go unnoticed by Hermione who looked at her own stock. Giving Harry a sheepish look she also sorted her ingredients out to use only the best looking of them. She got a full blown grin in return. Hermione could not help but stare at the sight of a happy Harry. With a pang she realized that she has seen not seen the grinning visage of Harry often this year and was also disheartened by the thought that she was one of the reasons for that.

During the next hour Professor Slughorn took time to correct the students and move around the class. Giving both Harry and Hermione approving looks at their half-done salves he said, "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, please stay back after class. I need to talk to you."

Their work completed in the allotted time and receiving 'outstanding' for their work, they began putting away their equipment and cleaning their shared table. Hermione was drawn into her thoughts on the book that Harry was using. She noticed that the changes that Harry was making were very minor and also very few. Also some of the suggestions were of common sense nature, like sorting through the ingredients for the best possible material, cleaning the knife before using it on different ingredients and how not to handle some of the ingredients. 'The modifications are certainly helpful. If only we know the person who made the changes' she conceded. She has certainly lost the animosity towards Harry for using the book, but she still could not totally forgive him as she still thought that Harry did not understand what he was doing and so was cheating. Little did she know that Harry was making every effort to study the subject and understand what he was doing.

"Ah! Harry, Hermione. Can I call you Hermione my dear?"

"Certainly sir"

"Thank you, you see during my previous tenure here I used to gather students to an informal meeting of sorts. Nothing fancy, just a place to talk without the restrictions of a formal class room setting. I plan to restart such gatherings. We will meet every other Saturday in my quarters for dinner and I would like both of you to come" droned Professor Slughorn.

Hermione was ecstatic about the meeting. Her thoughts were on a discussion club for potions and readily agreed to attend. Harry however was skeptical after hearing from Professor Dumbledore about how Slughorn likes to 'hunt' for celebrities and tried to wriggle out of it.

"I am sorry sir, but I have special training sessions on Saturdays. I may not be able to attend" he did not want to reveal that he will be working with Professor Dumbledore every Saturday like the previous week. But Slughorn brushed it off saying "I am sure that you will be able to take time to attend. Don't worry just come for the dinner." He immediately ushered them out without giving Harry a chance to reply. Giving Hermione an exasperated look, he escorted her to the great hall for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5:<strong>

Harry slowly fell into his new routine of physical fitness exercises and extra training. He noticed the difference Madam Pomfrey's nutrition potions made to his health. He was not tiring out easily and though he did not notice any change in appearance yet, he felt better than ever before. He also found an improvement in his concentration and this helped in not only his classes but also in his daily occlumency exercises.

The thawing of ice between him and Hermione during the potions class also helped Harry's mood. Though they have not reached the level of closeness they used to enjoy, their friendship was certainly on the mend. Hermione began to spend more time with Harry whenever he was in the library and was really surprised to learn that Harry was actually quite intelligent but was hidden behind a pall of laziness. Now that he has consciously made a decision to work hard, his work also improved and was showing it in his classes.

* * *

><p>Saturday brought with it the first social gathering hosted by Professor Slughorn. Hermione was looking forward to a night of intellectual debates and like-minded conversations, fondly called 'slug club' by the invitees. When she came down to the common room she did not find Harry but was informed by Neville that he left the tower for a meeting. With a bounce in her step she proceeded to the party.<p>

It was a very tired and disgruntled Hermione that came back to the Gryffindor common room after the party. She found an equally tired Harry lounging on the couch in front of the fire. Looking up at the new arrival, Harry could only muster a "Hey Hermione". This was enough to set off an already irate Hermione.

"Hey Hermione, is that all you could say. Where were you? I was hounded by Slughorn all through the party asking for you. Ugh! I did not even have a single intelligent conversation for three hours. Three hours for Merlin's sake. If you were there at least I could have talked with you. But no all I get is giggling school girls and boys drooling over celebrity names" ranted Hermione settling into the couch beside him.

Harry could only snicker at her, "That bad huh?"

"You do not know the half of it. I was expecting some kind of an informal exchange of ideas sort of club. But the time was spent boasting about the important people that Slughorn was able to collect in his 'club' and the students hanging onto his words like gospel. That man is more pompous than a strutting peacock, I swear Ginny was about to pounce on him at the mention of some Gwenog Jones."

"Yeah she is the captain of the Holyhead Harpies quidditch team and a very good professional player" replied Harry.

Exhaling loudly, Hermione leaned into him and Harry accommodated her by putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in tightly. After a short span of silence Hermione could not help but voice her question again, "Where were you Harry?"

"Oh! Didn't I tell you in class that I have a meeting on Saturdays?"

"I thought you said that only to skive off. Who were you meeting?"

"It was Professor Dumbledore."

"Really? You must be learning very advanced magic; it must be nice to learn from him. I wish I could also learn from Dumbledore. You must be so excited" squealed Hermione with a hint of longing.

"Whoa! Slow down Hermione" chuckled Harry "actually it was quite boring. He is not teaching me any new magic we spent our time going through basic exercises for Occlumency and he tested my defenses. After that he spent some time telling me about the life of Tom Riddle before Hogwarts. He seems to think that learning about his life is important."

He could clearly see that Hermione was disappointed that she could not learn about any new magic, albeit indirectly from Harry. Then in a pensive tone quoted, "know thy enemy."

"Yeah something like that"

"Is there any chance that I can also come with you the next time? At this moment I am ready to do anything to escape another slug club meeting" quipped Hermione. They shared a good laugh and realizing the lateness of the hour retreated to their rooms to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>With September 19th approaching fast Harry was excited. He wanted to make Hermione's birthday a memorable day for her. After all she will be of age in the wizarding world and acknowledged as an adult witch. He contacted some of her friends from Ravenclaw to attend the party and enlisted Luna and Ginny's help in organizing the party. The other members of the Gryffindor house also promised him their help to make the party a grand success.<p>

Luckily for Harry, Hermione's birthday fell on a Sunday. So they planned to have the party a couple of hours after lunch so that everyone can enjoy a leisurely day and also make it to dinner afterwards. The common room was decked with streamers and balloons and a large banner proclaiming "Happy 17th Birthday Hermione." Luna was able to distract her after lunch and at the appropriate time escorted her to the Gryffindor common room.

It was a very surprised but happy Hermione that was ushered into the party. After she settled down from the shock of seeing so many well-wishers, presents were handed out and she began opening them. The gift from Ron amazed not only her but also the entire gathering. She opened the package to find a wizard painting of a couple standing in a beautiful meadow full of wild flowers in front of a cottage. The edge of the painting was a glade of trees with a brook spilling out of it. What was captivating however was the look of utter bliss on the faces of the handsome couple gazing into the distance. They were standing with their arms around each other's waists and were at peace. The picture could also be charmed to show the faces of whoever they want in place of the faces of the models that were now being depicted in the picture (Instructions included!). Everyone in the party who saw the painting could not help but comment on the thoughtful gift.

Hermione went up to Ron, hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek thanking him. When she opened the gift from Harry she could not help but be disappointed to find a gift certificate from Flourish and Botts for 25 Galleons. She expected a much more personal gift from him, but graciously accepted it with a hug since books are the best gift she could want.

After Hermione blew out the candles and cut the cake the party started in earnest with music in the background and food and drinks supplied by the house elves. Hermione, while moving around and thanking the guests was wondering about the pleasant changes in Ron.

When she went to join Ron, Neville, Dean and Seamus she saw that harry was also coming to meet her. Ron saw her approaching him and went to meet her bragging "Hey Hermione, did you like the party? It took me a long time to arrange it."

Harry who was also approaching Hermione heard Ron and was devastated. He spent a lot of time and took great pains only for Ron to claim that he did everything. He wanted to lash out at him but saw the look of pure happiness on Hermione's face. 'Well whatever makes Hermione happy' he thought but could not stay in Ron's presence. He did not want to stay and enjoy the party with Ron taking the center stage. So he turned around and climbed out of the portrait hole and left the tower.

Meanwhile Hermione was indeed happy. She was ecstatic with her thoughts 'wow! Ron has definitely matured a lot this year. He took a lot of pains to arrange a party for me. What about the gift, such a thoughtful and heartfelt gift that he gave me. Hopefully he began to notice me, I can't wait for him to tell me about his feelings.' She spied Harry leaving the party and saw the look of utter betrayal on his face. But before she could contemplate the meaning of the look on Harry's face, she was jolted out of her musings by a furious Neville.

"You idiot, how dare you say that. The only part you played in the party is to eat the food. Harry took the time to gather all the people, people who helped with the decorations for the party. He even paid Dobby for the food."

Ron was embarrassed. He usually runs his mouth off without thinking and though it does piss off his friends, he also knew that Harry usually forgives him and things get back to normal very quickly. Because of that he was not really bothered by his rash actions. With a sheepish grin he sulked off to a corner of the room and continued eating. This exchange certainly put off most of the Ravenclaws who were not familiar with Ron's behavior. After wishing Hermione one last time, most of the people left the party.

Hermione was shocked at the at the callous attention seeking attitude of Ron. Not only did Harry take the time and efforts to arrange the party but he did not ask for anything in return except to see her happy. 'No wonder he left the party' she thought. She could not help but notice that Harry was gradually distancing himself from Ron. In the past Harry tolerated Ron when he spoke before thinking and always forgave him for his mistakes. But now Harry was less forgiving and preferred not to talk to Ron rather than tolerate his hurtful comments. This was a change that she did not expect in Harry. 'Then again, he has changed over summer he is no longer the easy going Harry. He has the weight of expectation of the world on his shoulders and so he had to grow up fast.' With these thoughts Hermione left the tower in search of Harry.

Thinking that Harry would go either to the library or onto the grounds, she left at a brisk pace outside the castle to find Harry taking a walk around the black lake. He looked to be deep in thought and Hermione was a bit skeptical in approaching him. Finally gathering her Gryffindor courage, she intercepted him "I want to thank you for the party Harry. I know it must have been very hard for you to hear Ron prattle about it" Hermione rattled off with a hint of embarrassment colouring her cheeks.

"I have gotten used to Ron shooting his mouth off without a thought. I have gotten over that phase when his comments hurt. After the Tri-wizard tournament I have been wary of his comments." After a few moments in silence, harry sighed "you have to either accept him how he is or move on. You cannot try to change what he is fundamentally, if you are waiting for him to grow up to your expectations, you are going to get hurt. You can either take him as he comes or get over him and move." Harry's comments hit so close to the truth, she could only peek at him in increased embarrassment wishing for a change in topic. She wondered if she was that transparent and came across as making a fool of herself in front of Harry.

After his outburst Harry fell silent and they continued their walk around the Black Lack in silence. However, silence was the last thing in Hermione's thoughts, even though she would not admit Harry was right, she could see the truth in his sentiments. Also her unsettled thoughts on her reaction to the Amortentia left her with a troubled mind. One thing was clear in her mind, she had to get over her funk regarding the potions text, as she had a feeling that she was beginning to fall under the spell of the new and matured Harry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6:<strong>

September turned into October and the students fell into the lazy routine that is found after a month of classes. Hermione began to spend most of her free time in the library and to her chagrin found that she was following Harry's study patterns and picking up the books that Harry himself was studying. She could only defend herself with a wry smile that, after all these books were suggested by the professors. Apparition lessons went great with most of the sixth years mastering the technique very quickly. Much to her irritation Harry was the first to master it and she was only a try behind him. As usual the lack of determination in anything that Ron does resulted in him failing to apparate properly and was advised to take extra lessons to get it right.

* * *

><p>One evening, coming down the steps from the girl's dormitory for her Prefect patrol with Ron, she found him playing chess with Seamus in the common room.<p>

"Ron, get up it is time for our patrol" she cried.

Without looking up from the board Ron begged "Sorry Hermione, can you cover for me? I still have my homework to do."

She was torn between reprimanding him for the dereliction of duty or praise him for thinking of his homework without her remainder. Being a stickler for rules, in her opinion the prefect duty was more important, but not doing homework also rates highly. Unable to decide, she shut her mouth and trudged out of the portrait hole to her rounds.

Lost in her thoughts about the situation she found herself in and being alone on the prefect rounds, she wandered on to the seventh floor corridor that led to the room of requirements. Before she could go any further, she saw the one person that she hated the most Draco Malfoy coming out of the room. Curious and also a little afraid of being alone she was about to confront him for breaking curfew but was stopped by his sneering voice.

"Mudblood whore, finally I found you alone without your two boyfriends. Now I can enjoy you before the dark lord finishes you off."

Mouth dry with fear, she gripped her wand tight, an action that was not lost on Malfoy. He hesitated a bit seeing the scared but determined look on Hermione's face. After all she was an accomplished dueler and a rather good student in Defense Against the Dark Arts, probably the second best in school after Harry. The momentary hesitation from Malfoy gave her enough courage to lift her wand with a curse on her lips.

She was pleasantly interrupted by the welcome voice of her favourite teacher. McGonagall knew the roster of patrol duties of all the Gryffindor prefects. Knowing Ron Weasley's penchant for skipping duty, she decided to follow one of her favourite students in her animagus form during the patrol. She was just in time to prevent Hermione from getting injured or worse.

Reverting back, she thundered "Detention for breaking curfew Mr. Malfoy and 50 points from slytherin for threatening a student." Whatever Malfoy was ready to do was prevented and throwing a final glare at Hermione, he sulked away.

Though she knew the answer, McGonagall still enquired, "Where is Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger? I believe it is his turn to accompany you on the patrol"

"He said that he has to complete his homework professor and so was unable to do the rounds."

"Oh! That's a first. Tell me Ms. Granger, what was he doing at the time you asked him to accompany you?"

Hermione's cheeks held a tinge of red in embarrassment as she realized that it was only her foolish notion that Ron would rather spend his time doing homework than fooling around. Seeing her discomfort, she continued "Ms. Granger you have to realize that this is not the first time that Mr. Weasley has skipped his duties. I have had complaints from nearly every other prefect paired with him. Ms. Bones was nearly assaulted due to his negligence."

Hermione was horrified at the danger of Ron's lack of responsibility to his duties. McGonagall continued "I would like you to put in a formal complaint against Mr. Weasley for me to take action."

Now Hermione was in a quandary. Her natural instinct of following the rules was warring with her desire to protect Ron. Sensing the discomfort on Hermione's face, McGonagall played on her sense of fair play. "I have to tell you Ms. Granger; Mr. Weasley was not my choice for the prefect position. However, the headmaster overruled my decision and made him a prefect. If he is slacking on his duties it is not only a mark against him but also an affront to the person he replaced. Think about it."

Hermione could very well guess who the first choice would have been. Her ire now turned on the headmaster for saddling them with a slacker; she immediately agreed to launch a formal complaint. As soon as she uttered these words a parchment magically appeared in the professor's hands and after noting the time and other relevant details handed it to Hermione for her signature. The formalities completed, she escorted Hermione on the rest of her patrol and left her at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

><p>Still miffed at Ron's treatment Hermione forced Harry to go to Hogsmeade without Ron, determined to enjoy herself even though Harry was reluctant to lose a day of extra training. On the way she recounted Ron's attitude regarding his duties and also her encounter with Draco Malfoy on the deserted corridor. She admitted to being afraid of him and agreed to Harry's concerns regarding Malfoy Heir's apparent scheming, and apologized for not believing in him regarding Malfoy.<p>

Harry felt vindicated but restrained himself from saying 'I told you so'. He was however intrigued about the reason that Malfoy needed the room of requirement. Harry was also happy that Hermione was finally waking up to the fact that Ron was not worthy of pining over due to his attitude which was in sharp contrast to her own attitude. They continued their walk in relative silence and then enjoyed the day out.

On the way back to the castle, Hermione spied Ron walking a little distance in front of them in the company of other Gryffindors in their year. Ron was walking with a strut and was flirting shamelessly with Lavender Brown. Hermione was saddened by the display but her musings were cut short when a loud shriek was heard from Katie Bell who was in between them and Ron's group. She appeared to be in some kind of a trance and then fell down to the ground obviously writhing in pain. There was an ornate necklace in her hands which was knocked out of her grasp the moment she fell down. All the students around her remained standing in shock.

Harry immediately conjured his patronus; the ethereal stag springing forward, "Find Minerva McGonagall and inform her of an attack on Katie Bell. Also tell her to alert Madam Pomfrey for a dark curse." Then he intoned '_cartographus_' before sending it away. He saw that Hermione was trying to move the necklace away from Katie and screamed, "No Hermione, there is a very dark curse still active on the necklace." Harry's shout caused her to jerk her hand away from the necklace while Harry conjured a wooden box, levitated the necklace into it and sealed it shut.

Hermione could only marvel at the new found confidence and conjuring ability 'his training is definitely showing results' she mused. Both Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey apparated next to them scarcely a few minutes after Harry sent the message. Madam Pomfrey immediately portkeyed back to the hospital wing taking Katie Bell with her, leaving McGonagall to collect the cursed necklace and Harry's memory of the incident as evidence.

They started their walk back to the castle discussing the event and Hermione was curious about the spell that harry used. "It is an advanced location spell and generally added to a message. It sends specific coordinates to the receivers who can apparate or portkey to the location."

Hermione could see that Harry was distracted, "What's bothering you Harry?"

"It's frustrating, we have tried to convince Dumbledore about Malfoy's blatant efforts to target someone in the castle, but he refuses to take any measures to prevent injury to a student or worse death."

"We?"

"Yeah! Most of the staff, surprisingly even Snape, and me. We are putting pressure on Dumbledore to expel Malfoy from the school to prevent a major disaster. Granted, most of the evidence is circumstantial, but it is too much of a coincidence that most safety breaches are somehow linked to Draco malfoy." These revelations left a lot to think for Hermione and the rest of the journey to the castle was spent in silent contemplation.


	7. Chapter 7

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7:<strong>

The last Saturday of October brought the first Quidditch match of the year. All the inhabitants of the school were buzzing with anticipation after all the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin was legendary. Hermione was intrigued about Harry and how he was able to have enough time to practice. Every free moment was spent in the library with her and that left him with almost no time to rest properly let alone attend practice. She was sure that the ban would have been lifted and he probably would be named captain. 'May be he is using a time turner. Professor McGonagall gave me one to attend more classes now his reason for using it is more important than mine was.'

Wolfing down her lunch, Hermione joined the throngs of students making a beeline for the pitch. Joined by Neville and other year mates she sat in the stands cheering for Gryffindor. Lee Jordan began to introduce the teams and as this was his last year most of the Gryffindors were cheering extra loud for him.

"…..and captain and seeker for Slytheirn Draco Malfoy", accompanied by cheering the green clad team streaked out into the sky to begin a loop of the pitch before landing in front of Madam Hooch.

"Now for the roaring lions of Gryffindor, Beaters Dennis and Colin Creevey, Chasers all new comers Dean Thomas, Suzanne Hofmann and Jane Crinkle, Seeker Ginny Weasly and also making his debut, Keeper and Captain Ron Weasley."

This announcement shocked Hermione and she could only blurt out the first thing that came to her mind, "Where's Harry?"

Neville who was standing next to her looked at her as if she was crazy, "What planet are you living on Hermione? Harry gave up playing Quidditch at the beginning of the year. McGonagall even tried to entice him with the captain position, but he refused. I do not know the reason why, but I think it must be something major for him to stop playing."

She of course knew the reason and for the first time Hermione felt guilty. Guilty that she did not pay enough attention to Harry, guilty that she did not do her best to help him out in his studies and training. She was there for him whenever he needed her before this year, but now when it was imperative for her to be by his side, she deserted him. There was Harry who gave up something he loved to do in order to prepare for the inevitable confrontation and it took only a silly book for her to abandon him. The whole game passed in a blur for her with these thoughts consuming her. She resolved to put her silly objections aside and do her best to help him out. She hoped that Harry would forgive her and accept their friendship back. This resolution also brought forth a determination to train alongside him 'If I am not prepared enough, I cannot stand beside him to help him fight Voldemort and by Merlin I am going to stand beside him till the end.'

"… and finally Ginny Weasley captures the snitch and Gryffindor wins 320 to 300 points. The loss of seeker Harry Potter is definitely showing in the lackluster performance of team Gryffindor. Still they managed to chalk up the first victory of the new season."

* * *

><p>Lost in her thoughts Hermione trudged back to the castle barely noticing the crowd. She entered the common room but could not find Harry. Determining that he may be in the library and not willing to disturb him, Hermione decided to wait it out and meet him later for dinner.<p>

The party in the common room was in full swing when Harry entered the common room a few minutes after the quidditch team was escorted into the room. He could guess that Gryffindor won the match; though he was not interested in playing he was happy that the team won the match, especially as it was against Slytherin. He spotted Hermione in one corner and began to work his way towards her when he saw her face taking on a horrified expression and she darted out of the common room tears streaming down her face. Whipping his head around to identify the source of her distress, he spied Ron and Lavender Brown wrapped around each other and engaged in a display of intense public snogging that disgusted him. Accompanied by whooping and various cat calls, the pair was oblivious to the others and continued kissing. Harry was torn between pity for Hermione and a feeling of elation that she finally recognized Ron's true colours. He was tempted to enjoy the moment, but immediately squashed it without remorse and took off after Hermione.

**He found her in the first unlocked classroom he tried. She was sitting on the teacher's desk, alone except for a small ring of twittering yellow birds circling her head, which she had clearly just conjured out of midair. Harry could not help admiring her spell-work even at a time like this.**

**"Oh, hello, Harry," she said in a brittle voice. "I was just practicing."**

**"Yeah . . . they're — er — really good. ..." said Harry.**

"What do I have to do to get him to notice me Harry? I mean we have known each other for more than five years now and I always help him during exams and for his homework. Am I only worth as a means for him to get good grades?"

Harry was crushed. He could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces, the girl that he secretly hoped to spend his life with was pining for another guy. He knew that this day was going to come but still hoped that Hermione would recognize her folly and move on, even if it was not him, someone worthy. Being the good friend that he is, he buried his anguish and lent her a shoulder to cry on and comforted as best as he could.

Even with her head perched comfortably on Harry's shoulder and her arm around him, Hermione was not at peace. She truly could not find a satisfactory explanation as to why she was trying to get into a relationship with Ron. If she was honest to herself she knew that Ron was not compatible with her personality. They always bicker and she could always detect an undercurrent of jealousy towards Harry either due to his popularity or the money he has. Though Harry never flaunted them, Ron was still not satisfied by being Harry's friend but wanted something more out of it, either money or fame she was not sure.

On the other hand Harry did have his mood swings but never hurt her, he rather put up with her own quirks and even encouraged her to do her best. But she never considered him as a boyfriend material because she always thought herself as not pretty enough for him, compared to Cho Chang, who he tried to date briefly. Her low self-esteem did not allow such thoughts. 'Is Harry so shallow that he will look for a pretty face only? Then again he left Cho even when he was on a date with her when I asked him to accompany me. He always looks up to me and is considerate towards me, much more than Ron can ever be' she scoffed. She remembered her mother saying to her once, "Your father was and still is my best friend", 'Can I have that with my best friend' were her final thoughts on this issue.

* * *

><p>The next morning being a Sunday, Hermione woke up later than usual. The shock of seeing Ron snogging Lavender with wild abandon hurt her and the bout of crying on Harry's shoulder tired her more than she would care to admit. Even then, sleep would not come easily to her and most of the night was spent in retrospection, she decided to have a lie in the next morning missing breakfast. Finally rousing herself, she settled on going to the common room and read something after completing her morning routine.<p>

Her bad mood surfaced again when she entered the common room. Ron and Lavender were occupying her and Harry's favourite couch and again employed in a display of public kissing that turned her stomach. Disgusted, she decided to go down to the library and left the Gryffindor tower. Reaching the entrance to the great hall, she spied a raven haired youth, whom she identified as Harry, walking determinedly out of the castle. Hermione could see that he was upset about something, curiosity got the better of her and she followed him out of the castle.

She discreetly followed him to a clearing near the edge of the forbidden forest which was mostly screened from any watchers in the castle. She found Harry sitting on a fallen tree with his head buried in his hands. Straining to hear she could discern quite sniffling coming from him. She then realized that it was Halloween and Harry was alone. She knew what the day meant for him, concerned for him she decided to comfort him.

Before she could reach him though, the silence was pierced by a scream of pure anguish. Harry threw his head back and let out a cry of despair and heart rending distress, screaming to the heavens for solace. Hermione could only watch in morbid fascination as Harry poured his heart out.

"Why? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? Why anyone that I love is taken away from me? My parents, Sirius and now the girl that I love is crying over another guy. Ron treats her like dirt and fights with her daily but she still tries to please him. Now when Ron shows his true colours, Hermione can only cry in anguish. What does she see in him, I do not know. What does he have that I do not have? I try to please her and treat her like a queen but she does not see it. That git takes credit for everything that I do to please her and she falls for him." He fell back onto the log and dissolved into body wracking sobs.

Hermione was stunned; the depth of Harry's feeling for her banished all coherent thought from her head. She was startled by a rustling sound coming from the edge of the forest to find a pure white female Unicorn coming out of the forest. The noble animal stared at the distraught young man and moved forward to nuzzle his neck. Even Hermione was mesmerized by the sight, as Unicorns are rather shy animals and do not come out. Legend says that only virgin girls or those of pure heart could approach a unicorn and meeting a female unicorn is even rarer.

The presence of the Unicorn brought Harry out of his grief and calmed him down. Nuzzling her neck, Harry began to talk to the Unicorn pouring out his heart, "Yeah! I think I know the reason that I am left alone in the world. I have been born with only one purpose and that is to kill Voldemort. I am only a weapon who could not be tied down with emotions or family. I have to either kill him or get killed myself, there is no point in loving someone only to lose it later. Oh! I will kill him, then maybe I can meet my parents and finally find some peace."

During this interaction, Hedwig also joined them and landed on Harry's shoulder and began butting his head. Calming down, he disentangled himself from the Unicorn and began to wipe away his tears. The Unicorn gave a snort of approval upon seeing Hedwig and swung her head towards the spot where Hermione was rooted. Then she slowly drifted back to the forbidden forest the same way that she came.

Unaware of Hermione's presence, Harry composed himself and began walking back to the castle with Hedwig still perched on his shoulder. Hermione could hear snatches of conversation between Harry and Hedwig, "Thank you Hedwig." Hedwig gave him an answering hoot then he chuckled, "Yes, you are one smart girl". Then finally she could hear him saying "I know, just like Hermione" before he drifted away from her hearing range.

Appalled after hearing Harry's anguished cries, Hermione could not help but feel a little disgusted at herself. The depth of Harry's feelings for her humbled her and she felt lucky to be loved so deeply by someone like Harry. Realizing that it is left to her to approach Harry and sort things out, she started to walk back to the castle.

'Love? Does Harry really love me? What about me, do I love him? Have I messed our friendship to the point where Harry thinks that no one will love him? Will he forgive me enough to accept me back into his life?' These thoughts kept her occupied and brought about a pounding headache. Deciding to take a hot bath to relieve the ache, she headed to her dorm room.

Entering the room, she saw Crookshanks snatching her sweater and darting underneath her bed. With a cry of, "Crookshanks" Hermione dived under her bed to try and retrieve her sweater. Before she could come out from under the bed though, she heard Lavender and Parvati entering the room talking about Ron.

"So Lav, How did you snag Ron? I thought that he was trying to get cozy with Hermione."

"That is what I thought too. Maybe he realized that Hermione is too serious for him, with their constant bickering something had to give" replied Lavender.

"But what about the wonderful gift that he gave on her birthday? Seeing that gift, I was sure that they will get together."

Lavender glanced around the room and confirming that they were alone said, "Actually Harry bought that gift for Hermione. But Ron blackmailed him into giving it up. I was there in the common room when Harry reminded Ron about Hermione's birthday and asked him if he got her a gift."

_Flashback_

"_What were you thinking Ron? I told you a week ago about today and you did not even get a gift for her" said Harry._

"_I know mate but I forgot you know how Hermione fights with me and if she knows that I did not get her a gift she will kill me. Give me the one that you got for her and I will pay you back."_

"_What about me Ron? You think that it does not matter if I do not give her anything?" Harry asked with a frustrated sigh._

"_Not that mate, she will not be angry with you. But me, I shudder to think how that will be if I turn up without a gift."_

"_At least help with the preparation for the party Ron. Then you can say that you have helped a lot."_

_With a ridiculously large grin Ron responded, "It's OK mate, she will not know if I have done anything for the party anyway. Besides I am a prefect I will be busy most of the time."_

_Giving him a disbelieving look Harry retreated to the Boy's dorm._

_End Flashback_

"You know that Harry will do anything to make Hermione happy. He spent nearly a month to find the ideal gift and he gave up the gift so that Hermione can be happy" continued Lavender.

"Yeah, that boy is too good. I really hope that Hermione wakes up and see how much Harry loves her."

With that both the girls left the dorm leaving Hermione fuming not only at Ron but also at herself for being so materialistic that she resorted to treating her friends based on the gifts that she got. Getting up from under the bed she mechanically walked to the bathroom. Hermione finally had a change of heart. She realized that with the knowledge of Harry's love for her and his friendship over the years, Ron's childish antics are not worth pining over. Besides, what Parvati said was true, it was time that she acknowledge her own feelings she remembered the beginning of a crush their first year. She was sure that she cared for Harry, maybe even enough to call her feelings as love. Resolving to help him and be at Harry's side from now on, she decided to give all her love to Harry hoping that she did not blow away her chance at true love. She could only hope that Harry would accept her back into his life again and maybe even try to start a relationship. She knew that the onus to take the first step towards that happy possibility is firmly on her. Finally succumbing to the trials of the day she let her tears mix freely with the hot water cascading down her face.


	8. Chapter 8

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8:<strong>

Hermione decided to apologize to Harry during lunch time that day and offer her unconditional help. If he accepted her apology, she also wanted to request him to let her in join his training program. Even after sitting through the entire duration of the lunch she still did not find Harry. When lunch was almost done, she picked up a couple of sandwiches and wrapping them up in tissue paper, ventured into the library to find Harry.

As she expected, Hermione found Harry sitting at his usual table engrossed in reading with multiple texts spread across the table. Venturing up to his table, Hermione greeted him, "Hi Harry, you missed lunch."

Startled, Harry checked his watch to find that he did indeed miss his lunch. "Yeah, I was trying to find some answers and I did not notice the time."

"What are you studying? If you don't mind me asking."

Harry gave her a wry grin, "Professor Dumbledore is teaching me about blood wards and runic wards. As you know I am an expert at ancient runes." Hearing Hermione chuckling, he joined her before continuing, "I am trying to read up on runes and it is a complicated subject. It is slow going for me to completely understand the rune based wards."

"Do you need any help? You know that I am taking the subject."

With a sigh of relief, Harry accepted her help and they both moved out of the library after picking a couple of books at Hermione's insistence. Harry led her to an unused classroom that McGonagall gave him permission to use for his training. There Hermione gave him the sandwiches that she packed for him and started on basic runes from her third year curriculum to help him understand runes.

With Hermione's help Harry was able to quickly grasp the subject and even Hermione was surprised at the rapid pace Harry was advancing. They continued working without any interruption and were so engrossed in their studies that they failed to notice that it was dinner time. They were interrupted by Professor McGonagall, "Good evening Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, I am sorry to interrupt your discussion but it is time for dinner. Mr. Potter, I did not see you at both breakfast and lunch. I have to warn you that the nutrition and restorative potions that you are taking will not be effective if you do not eat properly."

Hermione was intrigued, "Why do you need to take potions Harry?"

Seeing the embarrassment on Harry's face, McGonagall answered for him, "his relatives used to starve him during his stay at their house. Due to the lack of proper nutrition during his formative years, Mr. Potter has not achieved his proper height and weight for his age. We are trying to correct the malnutrition and restore his proper physical structure."

Hermione could not help the tears forming in her eyes, "I know that I was sending you food during the summer. But I did not imagine that the problem was so bad that you have to take potions to correct the problem. I am so sorry Harry."

"It's alright Hermione, that's all in the past and now hopefully I will be able to correct my stunted growth."

They packed the books into their bags, all the three of them started to the great hall for dinner. After a few minutes of awkward silence Hermione asked timidly, "Harry will it be alright if I join you for the extra training that you are getting?"

Though initially surprised, Harry immediately complied, "I have no problem Hermione, and in fact it will be nice to have a partner. You have to ask the professors for their permission though."

Professor McGonagall remembered Harry's request for including Hermione when she asked him about the animagus revealing potion. With a fond smile of understanding, she acquiesced to her request and left them to join the teacher's table for dinner allowing Harry and Hermione to join Gryffindor table.

After dinner they decided to stop their studying for the night and relax in the common room. There Harry gave her the details of his training regimen so that she can be better prepared to attend. "We will have training in advanced transfiguration for battle from McGonagall and advanced dueling techniques from Flitwick. I found that I was tiring easily during dueling, so I also carry out a physical training routine. I urge you to join me in early morning run around the black lake. We will also devise a routine for building your endurance. I regularly use muggle exercise equipment in the room of requirement and you should join me."

Seeing the horrified look on her face, Harry chuckled and threw his arm around her shoulders "Don't worry your routine will be less stressful than mine but will also start out slow and ease you into it." Sufficiently placated Hermione relaxed into his embrace with her head on his shoulder and elapsed into a comfortable silence.

That night both Harry and Hermione had satisfied smiles on their faces while going to sleep. Unknown to the other both hoped that this may be the first step to develop their friendship into something more meaningful.

* * *

><p>With the new understanding between Harry and Hermione the days passed in a happy mood for them. Due to their training sessions they found themselves in each other's company most of the day except at bed time. This was a happy development for both of them and Hermione found herself forgiven for all the past altercations. Without Ron between them, she found that she had a much better rapport with Harry even better than before which she chalked up to the lack of arguments with Ron, putting her in a much better mood. She always enjoyed a close relationship with Harry and now without Ron she found herself thinking with longing about a future with Harry.<p>

In one of the potions class after Halloween, Harry switched his annotated potions text with that of Hermione's new copy before she could object. Though the text helped him immensely, he wanted to prove to Hermione that the suggestions in the text were not at all dangerous and also progress that he is making in potions was not entirely due to the book.

"What are you doing Harry" hissed Hermione seeing the switch. Before he could answer however, Professor Slughorn entered the class and they fell silent. The class was for brewing antidotes and each student was given unlabeled flasks containing the potions to which they were to brew the antidotes.

Harry's flask contained a deep blue coloured potion with a metallic sheen while Hermione's was a pale pink coloured potion. Each of them had to determine the kind of potion they were given by observation and then proceeded to collect the various ingredients to brew their potions. Both Harry and Hermione sorted through their ingredients to only select the best of them for brewing. They turned to the relevant pages for the antidote brewing in their texts and began working. During the process of preparing the ingredients, Hermione saw a notation that made her pause, '_instead of dried wood lice select fresh wood lice and apply a drying charm for about 5 seconds to dry them and use these freshly dried wood lice for the potion_.'

She was intrigued by the suggestion and since it was harmless enough, decided to go with the suggestion. She discarded the dried wood lice and went to the ingredient cupboard and came back with fresh wood lice. Seeing her action, Harry gave her a smirk after catching her eye, to which she replied with her nose up in the air and a sophisticated look and very maturely struck his tongue out at him. After sharing a quite laugh, they both turned to their work and completed the desired potions well within the allotted time.

Professor Slughorn moved around the class checking the finished potions passing a comment here and there marking their grades for the day. Coming to the table having Harry, Hermione and Ron's work he cried out jovially, "Ah! Harry and Hermione, my dears, I am sure that you would have aced the potions"

Looking into Harry's cauldron he continued, "excellent work my boy. Care to explain your actions to the class?"

Harry cleared his throat and began to explain his reasoning "By looking at the colour and consistency of the potion, I guessed that it was nonvolatile and probably a metallic poison. Since it was nonvolatile I took a sniff and determined that it contained heavy metals like either Lead or Arsenic. To confirm my observations I mixed a detection potion which confirmed that the poison contains both Arsenic and Lead. Then it was easy to brew the antidote."

"Excellent deduction Harry. Certainly deserves an 'Outstanding' grade." Beaming, he continued to Hermione's work and gave her a look implying her to explain her work.

Casting a nervous glance at the hovering students, "The colour of the potion, the smell and its sticky nature gave me the clue that it is a shrinking solution. I tested it out on a bug that I found and confirmed it as a shrinking solution for which I brewed the antidote."

"Hmm, an unorthodox method but certainly cannot deny the logic of using a test subject and a perfectly brewed potion. Definitely an 'Outstanding' grade but unfortunately cannot beat Mr. Potter's marks. I have to give him the best marks due to the completeness of his detection and also perfect potion. Better luck next time my dear."

Hearing that she let out a sigh of relief, though she was disappointed not to get the best mark, she could not deny the fact that Harry was more thorough than her and so congratulated him whole heartedly. Harry was relieved that she accepted the verdict and hoped that now she could realize the usefulness of the suggestions given in the text. While this interaction was going on between the two friends, Slughorn moved onto Ron's cauldron and just one look was enough to start berating him for a very lousy work. He even threatened to throw him out of the class if he did not improve his skill.

"Good work everyone. Most of these potions will be useful in the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey. I will need someone to stay back and take them there" said Slughorn at the end of the class. Both Harry and Hermione volunteered to deliver them to the hospital wing and began collecting the correctly brewed potions.

Harry was still not attending the 'slug club' so Slughorn started "Harry my boy; I am still waiting for you to come to my quarters for the meeting. I hope that you will be coming this Saturday."

Before Harry could respond, Dennis Creevey came to the dungeons with a note for Harry from Professor Dumbledore. Harry read the note and then answered Slughorn, "as you can see professor, I have to meet professor Dumbledore. I am sorry I will not be able to attend." With that parting comment both Harry and Hermione left the classroom with the completed potions.

On the way Hermione wanted to know, "so Harry what you are going to learn from Professor Dumbledore this time?"

Throwing his free arm around Hermione's shoulder, Harry gave her a sheepish look, "actually that note from Dumbledore was to tell me that the meeting is cancelled. I could not help but take advantage of the note to deny attending the slug club."

Hearing that, Hermione gave him a mock scowl and let out a giggle. With a hearty laugh she told him, "If you are not going to attend I guess I will also skip the meeting. I was bored to death the last time. I can at least spend that time with you studying or whatever you want to do."

After delivering the potions to Madam Pomfrey, they turned to the library so that they could complete the potions homework before dinner. There they retired to the table that Harry has claimed for his use and piled up the necessary books. Hermione saw the pile of books that Harry was using for research and most of them she herself preferred for completing her homework. She could not help but feel ashamed for scolding him on using the potions text with the modifications when she herself has used it and found to be full of interesting hints.

"I am really sorry about fighting with you on the potions text Harry. I could not help feel that you are cheating when you followed the modified instructions to make the correct potion and get better marks than me."

Harry smiled at her and replied, "It's alright Hermione. I also think that it is cheating if you do not know how the modifications are helping in preparing a better potion." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before continuing, "I am not smart like you Hermione" though she privately disagreed with that statement Hermione kept quiet and let him continue. "I needed help in potions to understand what the different ingredients do, how they react with each other and what the differences are between a clockwise motion and an anti-clockwise motion. You've heard Slughorn telling about my mother and her potion making abilities, but I did not know even the basics. At this level we are supposed to understand all these things. But you know how Snape taught potions and his blatant dislike of me made understanding potions that much harder for me. This book actually gave me some hints as to how to approach potion making and helped me understand all the aspects that were supposed to be taught during our first year. I took the time to go through different books and now I can say with confidence that I actually understand what I am doing."

Hermione was happy hearing his explanation, "That's really good Harry. I should have helped you understand the basics better, as I spent most of the first year going through the same books that you are now reading. I am sorry for that."

Harry gave Hermione's hand a gentle squeeze conveying his understanding and thanks, "we can share the book and if we have time, research the modifications. I am planning to find out who the owner of the book is and if possible publish the modifications after our graduation and give credit to the author."

"That's wonderful Harry. I will help you as much as I can." Thanking her by giving her a one armed hug, they turned back to their work and completed the homework in silence.

* * *

><p>After dinner, Harry and Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room to pack their books away before returning to Harry's private classroom for spell practice. Before she could go up to the dorm room, Hermione was stopped by Ron. Giving her a grin he said, "Hey Hermione! How about we sit and do our potions homework now. I have some time now as Lavender is busy with her divination homework."<p>

Hermione's glare turned venomous as she shrieked at Ron, all her pent up frustration coming to a boil, "Why Won-Won are you tired of sucking Lav's face that you remember me now? I am not your servant to do your homework for you. See if I care." Ron's face lost its entire colour and he felt as if he was slapped. Leaving a stunned common room behind Hermione went up to the girl's dorms to leave her book bag behind and change into something more comfortable that allowed for free movement. She met a similarly bag free Harry in the coming back into the common room. She boldly took Harry's hand intertwining her fingers through his and dragged him out of the now silent common room, heading for some extra training.


	9. Chapter 9

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9:<strong>

The days of November passed quickly for Harry and Hermione with classes and extra training. Both Harry and Hermione grew even more close to each other and began spending their limited free time taking a walk on Hogwarts grounds or around the black lake holding hands. Though they did not openly acknowledge their feelings for each other, they were much more demonstrative of their affection. Regular hugs and snuggling on the common room couch in front of the fire were becoming more frequent for them. Harry was now confident that Hermione felt more than friendship for him and began openly initiating hugs and kissing her on the cheek. He was waiting for the right opportunity to ask her out and hoped that Hermione will accept to be his girlfriend.

Late November brought another change to their training schedule. In order to keep the training a secret, McGonagall asked Professor Slughorn to brew the animagus revealing potion and now it was ready. Harry was ecstatic; he was looking forward to follow in the footsteps of his father and Sirius. Even Hermione was giddy at the prospect of becoming an animagus.

On a Saturday evening after dinner, both Harry and Hermione went to meet Professor McGonagall in her office to start on the training to be animagi.

"Come in Harry, Hermione" with the time that they spent together in training with Professor McGonagall, she was less formal with the two now, "are you ready to try the potion?" She was rewarded with two vigorously shaking heads. "Now I have to warn you that not everyone has the ability for animagus transformation. Please do not get discouraged if you do not have one." She could see that Hermione was nervous and giving her a small smile of encouragement, she continued, "The process of finding whether you have an 'inner animal' is fairly simple, though the actual process of transformation is not." Further nods greeted her statements. "All you have to do is drink the potion which will put you in a trance like state and you can see the animal. I suggest that you lay down on the floor after taking the potion to prevent any injury."

They took the vial of potion from McGonagall and sat on the floor. Harry saw that Hermione was very nervous and so he gently took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Still holding hands they drank the potion and lay down on the floor.

Professor McGonagall saw the gesture from Harry and noticed that they did not let go of their hands even after drinking the potion. 'It's time they admit their feelings for each other. They are well suited for each other' she thought.

After about 30 min they woke up groggily from their trance. Looking at each other they could discern a look of amazement and satisfaction on the other's face. They did not notice that they were still holding hands and subconsciously drawing strength from the other. "Harry?" prompted McGonagall.

Giddy with excitement he babbled, "I am a panther or jaguar or leopard or something but black in colour with my green eyes. It is quite big actually, came up to my chest when it stood beside me."

Professor McGonagall grabbed a book from the book shelf in her office and started flipping through the pages and began to speak, "Jaguar or Leopards when they are black in colour are generally classed as black panthers only. Did you have any unique markings on your face?" getting a negative shake of his head, she continued "I would suspect that you may be a leopard but being black we cannot distinguish you by the spots on your skin. But black jaguars still have mottled skin on their face. Any way either a jaguar or a leopard comes under Black Panther when black in colour. But neither of them is that big, judging by what you say you will be nearly five feet high at the shoulders. That's impressive! What about you Hermione?"

"I am a lioness, when she came to stand beside me the shoulder came up to my navel" proclaimed Hermione happily.

McGonagall went back to her book, "Hmm, it says here that the average female stands at about 3 feet from the ground. Just about the right size I think" she said casting a speculative glance at Hermione.

With a squeal of delight and a wide smile that lighted up her beautiful face, Hermione threw herself into Harry's arms. He reciprocated by grabbing her in a bear hug which lifted her off the floor. With her arms around Harry's neck, Hermione buried her head in the crook of his neck. She reveled in the closeness to Harry and the feeling of safety that she always found in his hugs. She could even smell the musky animalistic scent coming off Harry. 'Probably as a result of the awakening of his inner animal' she thought with a giggle. 'Oh Merlin! This was the scent that I smelled when exposed to Amortentia in Slughorn's class. It was always Harry not Ron. How could have I deluded myself into thinking that Ron was better than Harry? If I do not know better I would have thought that I was confounded or something. If this is not enough proof of my feelings regarding Harry, I do not know what else will be.' These thoughts crashed upon her as a bolt of lightning and she blushed deeply while untangling herself from Harry's arms. Harry saw her blushing and could guess what she was thinking. The feeling of peace that he always felt in presence of Hermione brought about the fact that she was the one that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and it felt so right to him. 'I should take the chance and ask her out soon or I might risk losing the best thing to happen in my life the ', he thought, with flushed cheeks he also let go and moved back from Hermione.

McGonagall watched the by-play between two of her favourite students and smiled inwardly. She was observing the two from the first year and was sure that they are best suited to each other. She was aware of the closeness and the respect that they have for each other and hoped that someday they will realize their feelings. Looking at their flushed cheeks she was happy that they might have started to have romantic feelings for the other. With a subtle clearing of her throat she brought them back to the present and offered seats near her table while taking a seat on the other side.

Hermione recovered from the awkwardness the new realizations brought about and asked the professor about the bigger physical size of Harry's animagus form. "Professor, is it usual to have a larger form than the wizard or witch? According to what you told us now, Harry's panther form is much larger than normal, while my form roughly reflects my normal size. Does it mean that Harry's form is a magical being and not a normal black panther?"

McGonagall gave her a wry smile and with a shake of her head replied, "No Hermione, magical animagi are only stuff of legends. There has been no documented evidence on any one becoming a magical animal. We are not really sure what determines the kind of animal that a wizard or a witch may change into, probably the inner strength and character of the individual. The size of the animal usually represents the physical strength and the magical potential of the person."

"Your form is a tabby cat isn't it professor. We saw your form but it is not very bigger than normal cats, we know that you are a formidable witch. Why is the size so small?" asked Harry and then realized what he said and gave her a sheepish grin and began to apologize.

The professor gave him a small smile "Harry you have to understand that the cat is not a powerful animal by nature. Unlike a big cat like a panther or a lioness, the house cat is not built for physical strength. Moreover, I am a witch; with a few exceptions we inherently are not built for physical combat. Men on the other hand have a strong protective nature, which shows in your form of a big cat which in addition to stealth are very strong physically and take down much larger animals in a fight. Hermione having the form of a big cat reflects her true nature. If I know her, she is fiercely protective of her family and friends, especially you."

Both the teens blushed at the statement, while acknowledging the statement Harry continued "Not only of her friends professor but of her principles too. She fights for what she believes." The complement earned him a big smile and a quick hug of gratitude from Hermione.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Harry voiced the question that was bugging him "Professor you said that the physical size of my panther form suggests that I have a higher magical potential, but I am not any better than Hermione in spell casting. She is usually the first to master any spell and has a much larger command of magic than me."

McGonagall gave him a glance that he could not interpret, with a sigh "Harry magical potential does not mean learning spells faster or having more knowledge of the spells. No offence to Hermione…."

"None taken Professor, I knew from the beginning that harry is a much powerful wizard"

"Thank you Hermione, the power of a witch or a wizard depends on the magical potential or their magical core. You may not be able to learn spells quickly" with a scowl she continued, "I still believe that your upbringing is a reason for that, let's not go into that for now. You are a very powerful wizard Harry; your offensive spells pack more power and can do a larger damage than my own spells. I know for sure that your conjurations last longer than mine, I have seen it. Your magic is still growing and by the time you reach your magical maturity that usually happens around your 25th birthday, you will be a stronger wizard than even Albus and Voldemort."

Hermione was both surprised and proud of Harry. While she knew that he was a very powerful wizard, having a proof of the power was very satisfying. She glanced towards Harry and found him deep in thought and after a few moments of contemplation, he gave a curt nod to signal his acceptance in the matter.

Moving on McGonagall continued, "The animal form is innate to the wizard or witch so transformation will come naturally with practice. Moreover, you both have a very good grasp of transfiguration which is an added bonus. However, study your animals thoroughly not only the anatomy but also their abilities. This will help in achieving a faster transformation."

With a promise to follow her instructions and agreeing to meet every day after dinner in her office for the initial attempts at transformation, both Harry and Hermione left Professor McGonagall's office with relieved minds and a building anticipation in their hearts.

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><p>With the end of term nearing, Harry and Hermione were increasingly busy with the classes and extra training. With continued meditation every night for occlumency, they found that the ability to retain their lessons was much easier, which reduced the need for repeated revisions, an art that Hermione perfected over the years. This delighted Hermione to no end and she was able to relax considerably which harry was quickly beginning to appreciate. Their meditation exercises also helped them in calming their minds during training for animagus transformation, in which they were able to advance rapidly, much to the chagrin of Professor McGonagall. With their busy schedules, Harry and Hermione spent their time almost exclusively in each other's company except for sleeping. In addition to deepening their feelings for one another, they were able to get an inkling on the other's feelings also. This gave them the confidence in opening their thoughts about the future to the other and re-kindled the hope in their hearts about developing their friendship into something more meaningful in the future.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10:<strong>

November slowly turned into December and brought conflicting emotions to the students in the castle. While most of the students started to think about going home for Christmas, they also began dreading the end of term exams that come before going home. For once Harry was not worried about the exams, with the extra training he was putting in he was sure that he and Hermione could even pass their NEWTs. Hermione was also a lot more relaxed about exam revisions than all the previous years that Harry had known her, a distinct advantage of not hanging out with Ron. She quickly understood the need to relax a bit after a session of intense study and training. The added load of additional subjects and unaccustomed physical exercise tired her out much easily than Harry and was always glad for some respite. That the resting involved plenty of snuggling with Harry on the couch in front of the common room fire also helped her reasoning.

One such relaxing Saturday night found Hermione alone on the couch. Harry was away with Professor Dumbledore and though they shared much of the training and study sessions, she was not privy to the extra sessions with Professor Dumbledore. It was quite late at night and she was waiting for harry with only a couple of seventh year students left in the common room. Her musings were interrupted by opening of the portrait hole to admit a very worried Harry into the common room. Sensing his mood, Hermione immediately pulled him into a warm hug and Harry buried his face into her hair relishing the contact. Slowly pulling Harry onto the couch, Hermione laid his head onto her lap and began running her fingers through his hair calming him down considerably. With the soothing sensation of Hermione's ministrations Harry slowly began to drift off to sleep.

Hermione gently roused him "Harry do you want to go to your dorm room to bed?"

Though reluctant to get off Hermione's lap he realized the lateness of the hour and finally roused himself enough to get off the couch. "Hermione, do you have some free time tomorrow after breakfast? There is something very important that I would like to talk to you." Suitably intrigued Hermione acquiesced to his request and hugging her one last time Harry bade her good night and they left for their dorms.

The next morning after an early breakfast following their physical training session, Harry led Hermione to their 'training room'. After casting multiple locking, silencing and notice-me-not charms at the door, Harry gestured her to take the couch in the room and began speaking with an intense gaze directed at her implying the seriousness of the situation, "What I am going to tell you is a secret, a secret so dark that it threatens the very existence of magical Britain. A secret that only Dumbledore knows and has now decided to share with me. He did not want me to tell anyone, but I need you Hermione." While turning away from her he muttered under his breath "in more ways than I care to admit" though it was not meant for her to hear, Hermione could not help but grin at his inadvertent admission. Harry though was oblivious of Hermione's happy countenance and began pacing the room collecting his thoughts and decided to bare it all to her.

"He made horcruxes Hermione, Voldemort made horcruxes." Seeing her confused expression, he sat on the couch beside her and taking her hands into his, began the tale that he learnt during the time spent with Dumbledore learning all about Voldemort and his attempts to evade death. He talked about the memories that Dumbledore had gathered through the years and also his suspicions on the number and nature of the objects that Voldemort used.

Hermione was struck speechless with horror not only at the idea of splitting one's soul but also at the enormity and near impossibility of the task. They had no concrete evidence of the objects and let alone find them, they had no way of safely destroying them.

Giving her a wry grin he continued, "It gets worse Hermione, yesterday when I went to meet Dumbledore I found both Snape and Madam Pomfrey with him. I am not sure if you know but he injured his hand when trying to destroy a Horcrux. Apparently he put the ring containing a horcrux and a strong compulsion charm on his finger and it began to kill him slowly. Though he managed to destroy the horcrux, it is killing him slowly and I think that he does not have a long time to live Hermione. I think he wants me to finish the job." He let out a strangled sob, "me, a not yet seventeen year old, how can he expect me to do this Hermione, this is not some class test that if I fail I get a rap on the knuckles. We are talking about killing a very powerful wizard and not to mention the future of the world." Finally unable to hold back his tears any longer, Harry started to sob in earnest.

Hermione's heart broke at the despair radiating off Harry. She could very well understand his emotions; he is faced with a future that no fully trained wizard would want to face. Quickly gathering him into her arms, Hermione began rubbing his back and whispering soothing words of comfort into his ear. She tried to alleviate his burden and began to think out logically, "I am sure that Dumbledore will be with us for some time Harry. With Snape working on the curse and Madam Pomfrey looking after him, he may even survive the curse totally. Merlin knows you have been at her tender mercies often enough." This earned her a snort from Harry who was still buried in her arms with his head resting in her neck.

Taking this as encouragement she ploughed on, "still Dumbledore could not have chosen a better person than you Harry." This had a totally different reaction from harry, he quickly disentangled himself from Hermione and gave her an incredulous look. "No listen to me Harry; you are a very powerful wizard. Even Professor McGonagall acknowledged this fact. I am also sure that Dumbledore will not leave you all alone. He will give you all the knowledge that he has on the horcruxes and their destruction. If I am not wrong, people will sleep a little better knowing that you are the one chosen by Dumbledore to get the deed done."

Harry continued to give her a disbelieving look and so giving him a bright smile, she tried a different tack, "You will have me by your side always."

This however, did not have the desired effect on harry, giving her a guilt look Harry pleaded, "Hermione I know that I cannot survive without you bailing me out every time but I do not want you to be with me in this. I want you, no, I need you to survive this war and live happily Hermione. Please go away, as far away from me as possible. I cannot forgive myself if something happened to you, I can happily live or die knowing that you are safe than seeing you dead."

Harry was ready for every possible response from Hermione, though he really did not want her to leave him; he was even ready to hear her acceptance to his pleading. Nothing prepared him for the scathing look that he got in response, "You want me to tuck my tail between my legs and run away while you put yourself in danger? I thought that you knew me better than that Harry. You may not accept this but do you think that I can live without you? I have been by your side when Voldemort attacked you in our first year, and I am going to be by your side till we finish this forever. The safest place I can think for me to be is beside you Harry, I know that you will do your utmost to keep me safe. " Caressing his cheek in a tender gesture she softened her tone she finished, "I will be in your life forever Harry, however you will let me, just as a friend or as something more meaningful."

The passion and finality in her voice, the fire and love reflected in her eyes entrapped Harry and left him gasping for breath. It took him a lot of effort to resist kissing her then and there and proclaim his love to her. He was quite sure that Hermione will reciprocate his feelings based on what she said earlier, but he was afraid to take the step, a step that will change his relationship with Hermione forever and also put her in considerable danger.

With his resistance crumbled at her proclamation, Harry was finally able to admit both to himself and to Hermione that he was relieved. Relieved that Hermione will be there by his side till the end as he was convinced that he could not finish the job without her by his side. With the high strung emotions of the discussion finally spent, they sagged onto the couch and embraced supporting each other without the need for words. Gathering up his courage Harry kissed Hermione tenderly on her cheek leaving her blushing brightly. Snuggling comfortably into his embrace while lying full length on the couch, Hermione cuddled up to him, and they decided to keep detailed notes regarding every aspect of Harry's conversations with Dumbledore. With the added chore of researching into Horcruxes and the means of their destruction, Harry and Hermione's busy schedules became much more hectic.

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><p>In their dueling sessions with Professor Flitwick, they began to realize a serious disadvantage of fighting with wands. Wands could be lost or broken easily and even though they were quite adept at wandless casting than the ordinary witch and wizard, they quickly realized that wandless casting was only a temporary solution. The added advantage of a wand's focus allowed them to cast much more powerful and damaging spells than without it. So they began using wands that were not a perfect match to them. Surprisingly, they found that when they exchanged their wands, they were able to cast their spells nearly as efficiently as with their own wands. Their wands were compatible to each other than any other wand even that of Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. Seeing that, Flitwick could not help but quip "see even your magic is trying to tell you something that is blatantly obvious to all except the two of you" much to the embarrassment of the two teens.<p>

They decided to visit Olivander's at Diagon alley during the Christmas break and since Harry found it very difficult to get a matching wand the first time, they hoped that Mr. Ollivander could make them both custom wands. Harry was thinking about the 'priori incantatum' that he encountered when he dueled Voldemort in the graveyard during his fourth year. A custom wand may help him overcome the phenomenon and give him a better chance at defeating the hated wizard.

Their animagus training was also advancing in leaps and bounds and they were able to change individual body parts at will but they were unable to change the different parts together. They knew that this is the toughest part of the transformations and therefore were not discouraged. In fact the praise that Professor McGonagall heaped on them regarding the pace that they were progressing boosted their confidence to no end and spurred them on.

* * *

><p>One evening, returning from their potions class, Harry accidentally bumped into Snape while turning a corner. This caused Harry to lose the grip on his book bag and hitting the ground the bag tore at the seams and most of his books fell out. With a sneer in place on his face, Snape was getting ready to hit his stride in belittling Harry. However, his gaze fell on to a familiar potions text and his face morphed into a reverent one while picking up the fallen book, much to the astonishment of Harry and Hermione.<p>

In a strangled whisper he addressed the two bewildered teens, "Do you realize the significance of this book? Where did you get this?"

Surprised at the honest and tender emotions on the hated teacher's face Harry promptly replied, "I found the book in the potions cupboard in the dungeons sir. The first page is torn so I could not determine the owner of the book."

"Take care of the book Potter. It belonged to your mother, Lily Evans."

Harry was astonished and elated at the same time. This was a legacy of his mother; he has tangible proof about the brilliance of his mother. Even Hermione was shocked and she finally realized that the corrections and notations made in the neat and crisp hand writing were a result of meticulous research by a brilliant witch acknowledged by many. She heard many people and even Professor Slughorn saying that Lily Potter was one of the foremost experts in potion making. Oblivious to the presence of Snape and hugging an emotional Harry Potter, she made a silent vow to herself that she would help Harry as much as she could in bringing to light the modifications that his mother made to potion brewing and give credit where it is due.

Harry composed himself, taking the book form Snape's hands began running his fingers reverently over his mother's hand writing and in his happiness was even generous in thanking the greasy haired teacher, "Thank you professor, now that I know that it belonged to my mother I will treasure it all my life. I will get it preserved properly for eternity. I was thinking about getting the modifications published as a book properly to give credit to the author, now that I know that it belonged to my mother I am going to take more interest in getting it published. Thank you again sir."

With a curt nod, Snape moved away leaving Hermione to take the hand of a clearly emotional Harry and began dragging him into the Gryffindor common room to freshen up before dinner. She had to unburden herself and hoped to calm down Harry, "I am so sorry Harry, I was wrong to doubt you using the written instructions. I was very harsh on you, please forgive me."

With a shake of his head Harry pulled her into a hug, "you have nothing to apologize for Hermione, I am sure that if you have known that the book belonged to my mother you would not have objected to my using it. Any way I hope that this will give you an idea that you have to look at both sides of the coin before deciding to take action." Having her in his arms took away most of the rebuke in his comments; he kissed her forehead and gave her a smile. Disentangling herself from Harry's arms, Hermione returned the smile exchanging a look to signify an end to that argument and they silently agreed not to dwell on such negative emotions any longer.


	11. Chapter 11

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11:<strong>

Finishing the end of term tests brought a sense of euphoria to the castle. Students could forget about classes for a whole three weeks' time and bask in the warmth of the holiday season giving the staff of the school a much needed reprieve. Due to their intense study and advanced training, harry and Hermione were confident of getting top grades.

Heavy snow on the grounds ushered in a holiday spirit to the decorated castle, however, all was not well inside the castle, unknown to the students another cursed package similar to the one that injured Katie Bell was found addressed to Dumbledore. Before it could get to its intended target, the package injured a house elf that was transporting it to the headmaster. Upon investigating the package both Professors Dumbledore and Snape found residual magical signatures that indicated the involvement of an undisclosed student. The lack of any serious attempt to apprehend and punish the culprit, who Harry was convinced to be Draco Malfoy based on the professors reactions, irked Harry to no extent. In Harry's and Hermione's opinion this put the students at a greater risk that may be inadvertently targeted.

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><p>The end of the term also brought forth another attraction to a select few students who were invited to the Christmas party being hosted by Professor Slughorn. Harry was loath to attend the party but Slughorn cornered Harry and Hermione and 'suggested' that they attend the party. Harry decided to take this as an opportunity, and if Hermione accepted, make a life changing decision. Gathering his courage he immediately asked Hermione on a date to the party which she eagerly accepted.<p>

Getting dressed for the party, Hermione took the time to ponder the year so far. Never in her dreams had she imagined that she could be so stubborn and almost lose her friendship with Harry. 'Thank Merlin! Harry was made of sterner stuff and brought me to my senses' she thought. Not only did he forgive her, he also allowed her to join in his advanced training and animagus transformation. Though she dearly hoped that they would not need such training she knew that it was inevitable that Voldemort would come after Harry. Reiterating her vow to herself, she was determined not to leave his side and do her best to help him in defeating Voldemort. Therefore, she was thankful for the training she got and hoped that they could complete their animagus transformations before the end of the school year which was another 5 months away.

Critically examining herself, she became aware of the changes in herself due to the physical training. She had physically matured a lot in the last few months. Though nowhere near as muscular as harry she recognized that she developed a wiry strength that was not there before. She also lost a lot of weight around her bum and was now shapelier, even compared to Lavender Brown or Ginny Weasley. She never considered herself as a classic beauty but now she could honestly say that she is attractive. The physical conditioning was also very good to Harry who was now 6 feet tall and filled up nicely with broad shoulders. With the nutritive and restorative potions doing their job, Harry finally grew into the body structure that he would have had if not for the malnutrition at a young age. Though he was not very bulky, his muscles were toned with a deceptively animalistic strength to them.

In the solitude of the empty bathroom of their dorm, she was able to analyze her feelings truthfully. She was finally able to admit to herself that she is in love with her best friend. She sincerely hoped that the said best friend will notice her more than just as a friend; little did she know that Harry has more than noticed her and was determined to do something about it.

Hermione was relatively experienced at dancing than Harry and she knew that he was not comfortable with dancing. She was happy to sit out the fast paced songs that required some knowledge of dancing and was contented to be in his arms and sway to the slow music. With the growth spurt Harry had, her head reached just underneath his chin when she rested her head on his chest during one of the slow songs. Harry responded by pulling her tight in his embrace and rested his chin on her head breathing in the scent of her hair that always brought him a sense of peace. For Hermione there was none of the awkwardness that she felt when she danced closely to the slow songs with Victor Krum at the Yule ball during their fourth year. He was after all an acquaintance, but this is Harry the only person who knew her the best barring her parents, probably even better than her parents. She fit snugly in his arms and borrowed further into his embrace and let out a contented sigh.

Harry felt at peace after a long time and he was conscious that this feeling was always due to Hermione's presence by his side. He feared that he was probably going to ruin their friendship with what he was planning to do but was determined to grab the opportunity that having Hermione in his embrace presented. They were dancing in a relative corner away from the more enthusiastic couple and so he brought up his hand and subtly cast a "notice-me-not ward" he replied in response to Hermione's quirked eyebrow.

Harry cleared his throat and approached the subject that he harbored in his heart for a long time, "Hermione you are my best friend from a long time. You are the only one that knows me the best, even Ron is a pale comparison to you when it comes down to knowing me for who I am. I thought that you harbored a crush on Ron but seeing the way that he behaved to you and your response to that I think that I was wrong in presuming that."

He looked down to see that Hermione had a look of pure longing mixed with something akin to fear on her face. Hermione on the other hand was terrified and also elated at the same time. With her heart hammering in her chest she dared to hope that Harry was finally going to take the step she at once feared and longed for and bring all her dreams to fruition.

Harry knew that Hermione has a very low opinion of her looks and was loath to see the look of longing on her face. He finally realized that she would be devastated if he did not ask her the question that he was now sure of the answer for.

With a feeling of happiness filling his heart he finally asked her, "Hermione will you make me the happiest of all men by accepting to be my girlfriend?"

The look of utter bliss and tears of happiness in Hermione's eyes removed the last vestiges of doubt in his mind. The elation that filled his heart upon receiving a very enthusiastic "yes" spilled onto his face in the form of a massive grin. They shared a beaming smile and looking at Harry's exuberance, Hermione could not help the small giggle that escaped from her.

Harry chuckled and tightening his embrace bent down to capture Hermione's lips in the first real kiss for either of them. Yes, Victor Krum gave her a quick chaste peck on her lips after the Yule Ball akin to a kiss from a big brother and by Harry's own admission his only kiss with Cho Chang was 'wet'. This kiss was neither chaste nor quick. Lips parted and locked together they gently swayed to the music for many seconds of utter euphoria for them. Harry unconsciously tightened his arms around Hermione bringing her still closer to him, almost plastering her body to his. With contented smiles and love filled faces they gazed into each other's eyes while touching their foreheads.

The music slowly wound down bringing them back to the present and while the orchestra took a small break, they spied Slughorn coming towards them. Harry brought the notice-me-not ward down and started to mingle with the other guests. Exchanging pleasantries with Slughorn, they traded a glance that said everything without words and mutually decided that they needed to 'talk'.

After getting out of Professor Slughorn's quarters inconspicuously, Harry threaded his arm around Hermione's waist pulling her to him and she responded by resting her head on his shoulder. Leading her to his 'training room' Harry opened up his heart to his best friend and new girlfriend, "I think that I have always loved you Hermione. In the back of my mind I always knew that you had my heart right from the end of first year when you hugged me for the first time before going after the philosopher's stone. When I saw you go down to Dolohov's curse I felt my heart stopping and I was ready to follow you into the afterlife. It was then I realized that I cannot live without you." Glancing at her with love filled eyes, he continued, "I knew that you cannot have a meaningful relationship with Ron, but I kept my distance because you were pining for him. Oh! How I wanted to show you that I care deeply for you, but I was always afraid of your rejection."

By now Hermione had tears in eyes and they were flowing freely down her pretty face. Catching Harry's eye and locking her eyes with his, Hermione confessed her deepest secret, one which she thought she will take to the grave with her. "The moment I saw you on the train for the first time, I was captivated by you, even before I knew your name. I will not say that it was love at first sight but I think I started to have feelings for you from that moment onwards. When you saved me from the troll, the feelings deepened into a longing. But after the flight on Buckbeak, I knew for sure that I was in love with you. I never thought that you could love me, so I was slowly distancing myself from you to prevent heartbreak when you finally say that you do not love me. Ron was never my first choice, you were, and he was a safe choice."

By now both of their faces were drenched by the freely flowing tears. Harry pulled her tight against him and kissed her hard trying to convey all the love he had for Hermione in the kiss. It left them breathless but brought solace to their aching hearts. By the time they reached the training room, they were able to compose themselves reveling in the love for the other and basked in the knowledge that they hold the other dear in their hearts.

Guiding Hermione to the couch he settled next to her allowing her to cuddle into him. Putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her further into his embrace let out a sigh of relief, "This is very nice, if I survive Voldemort, I can very well imagine waking up every morning with you in my arms."

Hermione immediately pulled away from him and letting out a throaty growl reminding him of the hidden lioness and jabbing her finger at his chest said, "not 'IF' Harry, but 'WHEN WE' defeat Voldemort." Though spoken with vehemence, he realized that she did not contradict his desire to spend the rest of his life with her and Harry felt happy in the knowledge.

After a few moments of silence and snuggling with Hermione, Harry wanted to put forth his greatest fear. He knew that Hermione was ridiculed a lot before she met him and he was Hermione's first friend and she apparently loved him enough to spend her life with him. He feared that she would withdraw into her old shell without him by her side and will be left alone, "Hermione promise me that you will move on with your life if I do not survive, learn to love again and marry."

Hermione though surprised and a little hurt at his continued belief of not surviving the war and lack of confidence in winning, countered with a demand of her own, "Harry promise me 'YOU' will find another girl and marry 'IF I' die."

Harry could only gape at her with fascination and gratitude, "I cannot make you that promise because I will also die if you do not survive, but I will try my best to survive the war and also keep you safe. I can only hope with all my heart that we will not get into that situation."

Hermione reiterated with conviction, "we will survive Harry, we will beat him."

Overcome with emotion, Harry grabbed her in a bear hug and they both shed tears of respite. Settling down from their high strung emotional state, a solemn Harry untangled himself from Hermione and dropping down on one knee beside the couch took her hands into his, "Hermione will you marry me?"

So abrupt was Harry's question that Hermione could only look at him with shock written all over her face. After a split second she threw herself off the couch, crushed him in an enormous hug, knocking them both to the floor. Sprawled over Harry, she grabbed his face and gave him a searing kiss and began muttering "Yes" over and over again while continuing to kiss him all over the face.

Grabbing Hermione by her waist to keep her steady Harry let out a heartfelt chuckle full of relief at the pleasant turn of events and when she stopped out of breath, responded with equal enthusiasm kissing her all over her face muttering "Thank you" in between the kisses.

Picking themselves off the floor, Hermione swatted him on the arm and remarked "Don't think that you are off the hook that easily Mr. Potter, I still need a ring on my finger."

Furiously rubbing his arm in mock hurt Harry scowled in mock outrage "Ow! Woman you are going to be the death of me, I do not know why I love you."

With an overly dramatic sigh, Hermione kissed him on the arm where she hit him and asked sweetly, "is it all better now?"

Breaking into laughter Harry promised "after we defeat Voldemort" getting a big smile in response from a happy Hermione at his change in attitude, he continued, "I will propose to you again properly with a ring and with your parent's blessings."

Mutually deciding to keep their engagement under wraps for now they settled back on the couch. Forgoing all inhibitions, Hermione sat on Harry's lap with her feet dangling over the side, snuggled into his chest with her head in the crook of his neck. With new found happiness and conviction of a life together they settled down to a round of snogging in earnest. Unconsciously rubbing Hermione's back as was his habit when hugging her, Harry accidentally ran his thumb over her breast. The feather light touch sent a ripple of tingling sensation through Hermione's body forcing an involuntary gasp. Fearing that his actions might have crossed a yet undefined boundary, Harry jerked his hand back and looked into her face for a sign. Hermione saw the look of dread on his face and correctly guessed that he was frightened of offending her by crossing a line. She however, liked the sensation and thoughts of Harry's hands over her breasts. Smiling impishly at him, she told him in no uncertain terms that she liked it and since they are engaged to be married; he could occasionally continue giving her the same pleasure.

The thoughts of Hermione's soft breasts in his hands and the express permission to touch relaxed Harry sufficiently to continue snogging Hermione. But he faithfully kept his hands on Hermione's back and waist much to her disappointment. Though she boldly told him that it was alright, they were still new into their relationship, and grateful for Harry's restraint she happily accepted his decision for now. Aware of the lateness of the hour and deciding that the other students would be returning from Slughorn's party, they reluctantly returned to reality and headed to Gryffindor tower hand in hand with fingers entwined.


	12. Chapter 12

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 12:<strong>

The next day brought the beginning of Christmas holidays. Harry and Hermione decided to spend the days with Hermione's parents. With many plans regarding the safety of Hermione's parents to take care of and their secret trip to Diagon Alley, they declined an invite to the Burrow. Besides, Hermione wanted to properly introduce her boyfriend to his future in-laws.

The threat of the war with Voldemort looming on their heads, they made a conscious decision to take a break from school work and training. Due to this, they had only a backpack containing a few pieces of clothing as their luggage. They decided to keep working on their meditation as part of Occlumency and also their animagus transformations, which do not require the use of their wands. This also had the added benefit of hiding Harry well within the non-magical world. They were also well aware that this may be the last time that they can enjoy a proper holiday for a long time.

If Dan and Emma Granger were surprised at Harry being introduced as their daughter's boyfriend, they hid it well. They were secretly glad that she found someone who loved her and also were relieved to find that it was not her other friend. All the letters that Hermione wrote home described her two friends in great detail and they harbored the hope that Hermione will realize that Harry was a better choice for a boyfriend compared to, in Dan's words, the red headed food guzzler.

Reaching home, Harry was shown into the guest bed room and after putting his bag in the room and freshening up; he hastened to the kitchen to help Emma prepare dinner. She tried to refuse his help but Harry was adamant in helping her out. She spied that her husband was covertly trying to listen in to their conversation and so decided to find out a bit more about the seriousness of his relationship with Hermione.

"So Harry, I am very happy that you two decided to go out. All her letters were full of your praise, but I am surprised that it was so sudden. There was no mention of such thoughts in any of her recent letters" Emma stated.

Giving her a nod of acknowledgement Harry replied, "Yes, I was not sure myself that Hermione was interested in a relationship with me. I always thought that she was interested in Ron." Seeing a look of pure horror on Emma's face, he tried to placate her, "Turns out that she was hoping to get together with me for a long time but convinced herself that I was not interested. It was all a big misunderstanding which I am happy to say was resolved to mutual satisfaction."

Seeing a look of disgust on her husband's face, she turned to Harry "Thank goodness for that. I am not so sure how Dan would have reacted to that" she commented with a wry smile.

"Yeah! I can very well believe that. I was convinced that it was a bad idea but did not want to disappoint Hermione and so I stayed quite. Then this year Ron started to go out with another girl and began to treat Hermione really bad. I think that really opened up her eyes to his real character. We got closer through the year and began drifting apart from Ron." Forcefully exhaling his breath Harry continued, "It was almost like a big weight was lifted and we were allowed to let go of a façade. Without Ron's interference, Hermione was truly able to analyze her feelings for me and finally admitted it to herself. Finally at the Christmas party, I asked her to be my girlfriend and she quickly agreed."

Casting a glance at her husband who was now moving to join them Emma smirked, "I thought that Gryffindors are known for their bravery and that they leap into dangers without a second thought."

Sharing a laugh at his expense with Dan Harry said, "Not where Hermione is concerned. I cannot play with her emotions. As much as I want to see her happy, it will still kill me if she were to reject my advances."

Sensing the emotional under current and truthfulness in his words, Dan realized that giving Harry a hard time for dating Hermione would not bode well, especially as he was beginning to understand the depth of the feelings that Harry has for his daughter. With the dinner ready and Hermione's entrance he resorted himself to give a pat on Harry's back and a look that conveyed his whole hearted approval of their relationship, earning a hug of gratitude for himself from his daughter.

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><p>The holidays were meant to be spent relaxing and taking a break from their hectic study and training schedule. So Harry decided to spend some time with Hermione and take her out on an 'official' date. Even though Hermione felt that most of the time that they spent alone was like a date due to Harry's considerate nature and attentiveness to her, the teenage heart fluttered at the thought of a romantic evening with her fiancé.<p>

They left early after breakfast and entered Gringotts to collect quite a bit of gold enough not only for immediate purchases but for emergencies s well. They were unsure if harry will be able to access his money easily if Voldemort was to become active. Despite her protests, Harry added her as the next of kin to his will and allowed her full access to his vault. Though it was not much, the gold in his vault would allow both of them to live comfortably for a few years to come. Hermione also reciprocated his gesture and named him the next of kin for her.

After a stroll looking into the various shops through the windows they entered Mr. Ollivander's shop for their custom wands. Mr. Ollivander was initially reluctant to make them a secondary wand as it was generally restricted by the ministry but Harry was able to convince him regarding the difficulty in battling a brother wand. Surprisingly, both of them were matched with more than one core and Mr. Ollivander agreed to construct them dual core wands without the ministry tracking spell and promising to get them ready before New Year day. Harry immediately bought them a couple of wand holsters each for their two wands and they left the alley to spend some time in muggle London.

Hermione thought that spending time with Harry was enough, but revised her opinion after watching a movie and lunch with Harry. She was not sure if the label of being a date changed her opinion but found the six hours she spent with Harry on the date were exquisite.

Arriving home with broad smiles on their faces, Hermione grabbed Harry in a searing kiss, "I enjoyed it a lot Harry and we have to do it again." Momentarily losing all coherent thought after the kiss, Harry immediately agreed to her declaration. The rest of the time waiting for Hermione's parents was spent cuddling on the couch in front if the TV and sneaking occasional kisses.

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><p>Christmas morning brought the inhabitants of the Granger household in front of the tree in the living room after breakfast. Harry watched with trepidation as Hermione opened his gift. Inside the green and scarlet wrapping paper was an oblong velvet lined jewelry box. Hands shaking with anticipation, Hermione opened the box to find a beautiful locket resembling an open book complete with a pronounced spine. One side of the open book had the inscription 'my inspiration for a better life' in silver letters and the facing side contained a miniature picture. The picture was taken by Colin Creevey during one of their Hogsmeade visits showing Harry and Hermione with serene smiles and holding hands with their fingers entwined.<p>

Hermione was enthralled with the gift; it not only depicted her favourite hobby but the inscription struck true to her heart. She believed that it was Harry's presence in her life that ignited her thirst to push the boundaries of learning. The gift of Harry's unconditional friendship from the beginning of their first year and now his love was the reason for her almost pathological need to keep Harry safe. No one was able to capture her heart and bring out her inner beauty as vibrantly as Harry for which she felt blessed and at the same time indebted to Harry.

Seeing the nervousness on Harry's face Hermione immediately launched herself into his eager arms and planted a forceful kiss even in the presence of her parents. She felt that she did a grave injustice to Harry during her birthday party, "I am sorry for my reaction to the gift you gave me for my birthday Harry. I learnt from Lavender and Parvati about Ron's subterfuge to claim your gift as his. You should not have done that. It is alright to help your friends but not at the cost of alienating the ones that you really love."

Unbeknownst to the teenagers wrapped in a tight hug, Dan and Emma Granger exchanged a look that would have meant trouble had they seen it. Seeing the way the two were wrapped around each other and the lack of shyness in touching, they realized that the two were probably more than just dating. The elder Grangers decided to corner the kids after lunch and hoped that they do not hear that her daughter has done something inappropriate.

It was a furiously blushing Harry and Hermione that sat in front of the serious faced Grangers. Hermione was scandalized, "No Mum! We are not having sex" and continued in a small voice, "we are going to wait till we are married."

Hearing that both the parents were pleased, they secretly wished that it would be Harry that Hermione chose for a life partner. Even Dan was able to figure out that the two of them were in love even before they got together. It helped him greatly that he also married his best friend and knew the signs that his daughter was displaying. But he still had to maintain a stern father façade. Seeing the look on Dan's face Harry wanted to clarify the situation, "Sir I know that our relationship is new to be considering marriage but I love Hermione with all my soul. I want her in my life so badly that it hurts that is why we decided to get engaged."

They were surprised to hear a squeal from Emma Granger who immediately bolted from her chair to hug Hermione tightly. What was even more surprising was the big smile that Dan Granger now sported. "Welcome to the family Harry. I hope that you will wait till you finish school to take that step." Then his voice turning stern asked, "I do not see a ring young man." He silently wondered if he had enough money to even buy a ring for his daughter.

What he was not prepared to hear was when his daughter answered, "Actually daddy we want to keep our engagement a secret." Seeing the incredulous looks on her parents, she sighed "what you have to know is that the wizarding world is on the brink of a war…." the next hour was spent in detailing the present situation that the wizarding world and in accordance the non-magical world is also going to face. Though they did not specify in detail about the prophecy, they could not hide the fact that Harry was going to be an important player and being his best friend and a muggleborn, the prosecution she may face.

Dan's first impulse was to pull her away from it all and Harry voiced it for him, "Believe me sir, I also do not want Hermione in any of this. If it was left to me I would ship her as far away from Britain as I can." He heard a small growl coming from a scowling Hermione, giving her a reassuring smile he continued, "I have to confess thought that she is the other half of my soul and I feel lost without her by my side. I am not vain enough to think that I can survive the war without Hermione's help and she has been doing it successfully for the past five years. Even if she is away from me I would always be worried for her safety. So the only place I can be sure of her safety is by my side where I can protect her or die trying."

Hearing his heartfelt words Hermione pulled him into a fierce hug and clutching him murmured, "we are going to win Harry; never doubt that we are going to survive so that I can give you all the children that you wanted."

This statement brought all the arguments Dan had to a grounding halt. Who was he to deny two people the love of a family? "What about Harry also coming away, we all can go away from Britain and live somewhere else. We have enough money to support both of you for a few years before you graduate."

"It is not a matter of money sir." He was interrupted by Emma, "Call us Dan and Emma Harry you are practically our Son-in-law." With a tearful thank you Harry continued, "I have enough money to support both of our schooling and also for a couple of years afterwards. Tell me honestly though, if you were in my place, can you turn away if you know that you can make a difference? Can you truly not do something to change the world?"

Dan knew that he was defeated. His own morals would not allow him to leave a situation without helping. So he nodded his grudging acceptance.

"Don't worry daddy Harry and I have the best training we could have. All the professors are giving us advanced lessons in dueling and other magic. We are currently the best students at Hogwarts. Harry may even be better than most of the professors' probably only Professor Dumbledore may be more powerful than him."

Ignoring his stuttering protests Hermione continued, "Shush Harry! You know it is true. But mom, dad we have a request. We want you to leave Britain and go away for your safety. You will be targeted and knowing you are safe will help us a lot."

The same morals that wanted him to stay in a fight also warred with him not to run and leave his daughter and soon to be son. But the logical part of his brain prevailed he knew that he would only be a hindrance in a magical fight and being safe was half the battle won. Exchanging a look with his wife he tossed ideas about, "how about we accept the request for volunteers from the Red Cross? There was a request for travelling to South Africa. We can put our practice and house for a two year lease with a provision to extend it if needed." Getting a nod from his wife it was decided to approach the Red Cross and plan after a meeting with them. It was a happy Granger family that pulled the new addition to their family into a group hug and started preparations for a welcome Christmas dinner.

* * *

><p>Two days before New Year's Day with the permission of Dan and Emma, Harry coerced Hermione into another date. They started with a visit to Gringotts to try and get some help from the goblins for the Granger's move out of the country. After that they enjoyed a shortened tour of London just like two ordinary teenagers very much in love. Concluding the date with a romantic candle light dinner, the contented couple returned home. Though he did not voice it aloud, Harry fervently prayed that this was not their last date.<p>

The next day Dan and Emma returned from a meeting with the British Red Cross. Arriving home they found the two on the living room couch, Harry pouring over a book on Ward breaking and Hermione resting her head on Harry's lap reading on dark curse detection, something which she was unable to master yet.

They related their decision to the two, "the goblins were correct Harry. There are a couple of wizards who will be travelling to South Africa with us. The tenants that they recommended also agreed to look after our practice and house. We will be ready to move out by Easter, so these few days will be the only time we have for each other till we meet again." With a sly smile Emma quipped, "The name Harry Potter does open a lot of doors." Harry could only duck his head blushing in embarrassment at the comment.


	13. Chapter 13

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13:<strong>

After a relaxing holiday spent getting to know Hermione's parents, Harry and Hermione returned to Hogwarts with a rejuvenated body and mind. After the welcoming feast and finishing up her prefect duties, Hermione joined Harry on the couch in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Snuggling together they reminisced about the time spent having fun and also arranging the elder Grangers to leave the country.

Just before curfew when most of the inhabitants of the tower were contemplating a night's rest, the portrait hole opened to admit a particularly peeved Professor McGonagall. Looking around the common room she spotted Ron sitting in the corner with Lavender Brown on his lap, faces attached and his hands wandering all over her. They were so busy in their activity that Ron did not even acknowledge the presence of their Head of House.

"Mr. Weasley" she barked. Jumping up from the couch Ron nearly ended up dumping Lavender on the ground but she managed to stay standing on her feet looking contrite at her shameful actions. But the focus of McGonagall's ire was surreptitiously wiping his face to remove the traces of lipstick, which further enraged her.

"Have you checked if all the students are back inside the dorms and no one is breaking curfew, Mr. Weasley?" Ron immediately knew that he was in trouble and refused to meet her eye. The professor cast a glance at Hermione who immediately nodded her head to signify that she did check and that all the girls are in the tower. Pursuing her lips, McGonagall continued, "Where were you during your patrol duty on the Express?" again Ron had no answer. But this time she demanded an answer and so shuffling his feet on the carpet he mumbled, "In the compartment with Lavender" barely loud enough to catch his words. Many of the occupants hid snickers behind their hands and tried not to look amused at Ron whose ears began to turn a bright red in humiliation.

"I have given you more chances than anyone deserves, but your behavior has not improved. I do not care what you do with your spare time but skipping prefect duties for frivolity is not an acceptable behavior of a Gryffindor. You have also failed in most of your midterm exams. I would recommend that you spend less time in Broom Closets and try studying; otherwise you may have to join your sister in class next year." Laying thickly into Ron, she demanded the prefect badge back. A stunned Ron tried to stutter out an apology but McGonagall had no problem in revoking his privileges.

Dismissing a thoroughly cowed Ron, she turned her attention to Harry and Hermione, who arose from the couch upon seeing McGonagall enter the common room but still held hands. In her no nonsense manner she held the badge to Harry. Surprised he immediately refused to accept the badge not just as an affront to Ron but also because of the hectic training he and Hermione were following. Seeing his reluctance McGonagall tried to placate him, "The badge is rightfully yours Mr. Potter. Even last year you were my choice of male prefect but the headmaster overruled me. Please accept it in the spirit it is being given, I will not have the noble name of Gryffindor being sullied by a few." Seeing the proud look on Hermione's face he did not have the heart to refuse and graciously accepted the responsibility. He also knew the extra privileges that come with the duty would only help him in his training especially the lack of strict curfew for the prefects.

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><p>The advent of spring also brought a few dramas to the inhabitants of Gryffindor tower. The threat of failing the year and having to take it again finally got through to Ron and he started to try and get back into Hermione's good graces. He was honest enough to know that without her help he might not have made it to second year. However, subtlety was not Ron's forte and his attempts at placating Hermione stood out like a sore thumb. The meek Hermione who was afraid of not having friends was long gone replaced by a fighter who was prepared to back her wizard through hell. Being engaged to Harry might also have boosted her confidence and her rebuttal of Ron's efforts was the talk of the castle for many days to come. Even though she could pity him, she also knew that bringing him back into the fold would hamper their brutal training. Not only that it would seriously cut into her alone time with her fiancé and she was not prepared for that even though they still managed to keep it a secret.<p>

This incident had the unfortunate effect that, in his efforts to win over Hermione's friendship, Ron was inattentive to Lavender which did not go well with the feisty blonde. She was able to deduce that Ron was a mediocre student who depended upon Harry and Hermione for his grades. The loss of his prefect's status also miffed her resulting in a public spat that ended with Lavender brutally dumping Ron and seeking a better wizard from Ravenclaw house.

The youngest Weasley also thought that it was time for her to snag Harry and so broke up with her boyfriend Dean Thomas in front of him. But she did not account for the presence of Hermione who was snarling quietly at the redhead whenever she tried to accost Harry. She finally had to settle for Harry's assurance that being a 'honourary big brother' he will be there to take care of her in danger.

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><p>The one sour note for Harry was the threat of Draco Malfoy's plotting. Though there were no further attacks, Harry and by principle Hermione were convinced that it was the calm before a storm, a storm that may very well be in the form of Lord Voldemort descending on the castle. To counteract such a situation, Harry and Hermione began including strategy sessions after their grueling training sessions.<p>

After her scare of being nearly assaulted by Draco Malfoy on late night patrol alone, Hermione refused going on such patrols even with other prefects. But with Harry being made a prefect in place of Ron, she agreed to restart her patrols late into the night. The night before Easter found Harry and Hermione in the deserted Gryffindor common room seated on the loveseat after a late night combined patrol. The witch was clutching at Harry with her head buried in his chest and sobbing her heart out. The reason for her grief was a letter from her parents announcing their departure to Heathrow Airport just as Hedwig left with what would be the final missive from her parents till the end of the war.

"This is the first time that I will not be in contact with them for a long time. I was even unable to say goodbye to them personally. I hope that I can see them again Harry." Hermione managed to choke out in between her sobs.

Though Harry was fearful of the same thing, he knew that this was not the time to voice skepticism. He pulled Hermione into his lap and began rubbing her back in an effort to calm her down, "Hey, where is the confident young woman I know, that bosses me around? Do not give up hope Hermione; this is the reason why we are training our socks off. I have come to consider Dan and Emma as my parents too. I am not ready to lose the parents that fate has seen fit to give me. Not only your parents we now have the incentive to ensure that no child is separated from their parents ever again. I am willing to do anything to ensure that, even put my life on the line. But with you beside me I want to live and have children, watch them grow."

More than his words, Harry's proclamation about her parents being his parents combined with the thought of having kids with Harry brought Hermione out of her funk. With a small smile on her face she continued, "Can I sleep with you tonight Harry? I do not want to be alone, I want to be held and sleep in your arms."

Even though he knew that they decided to wait till their wedding night to take the final step in their relationship, the thought of having Hermione in his bed ran amok in his teenage brain and made speech impossible. Getting a nod of acceptance, Hermione ran up to her dorm to change into her pajamas and coming back, found Harry waiting for her in the common room. Hand in hand they went to the boy's dorm and she immediately got into Harry's bed. Trying to keep the grin that threatened to erupt on his face in control, Harry quickly stripped down to his boxers. Putting up the necessary privacy spells he joined Hermione under the covers. Hermione quickly fell asleep with her head perched comfortably on Harry's chest and being held tightly and protectively by him. Harry barely managed to keep awake enjoying the sensation of holding Hermione in his arms and followed her shortly into the land of dreams.

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><p>By the end of April, McGonagall and Flitwick were impressed by the progress made by Harry and Hermione, and pronounced them ready to sit for their NEWTs. in transfiguration, charms and defense. Harry and Hermione were confident that they could achieve an 'Outstanding' grade. They however, decided to keep their prowess a secret and wait till the end of their seventh year for taking the exams even if they were ready to do so right now. In the mean time they decided to concentrate on dueling and strategy sessions to prepare for any eventuality. Both Harry and Hermione worked hard and they were able to effortlessly cast with their off hand. They quickly found out that their new dual core wands gave them added power and spells were slightly easier to cast with it. Harry even managed to duel with both the wands at the same time earning the praise of an exuberant Flitwick, but found it difficult to do that for a long time. They began carrying both their wands and the spells on their wand holsters rendering them invisible when sheathed.<p>

Harry had a surprise for Hermione when he approached McGonagall and asked for her clearance to sit for his O.W.L in ancient runes. McGonagall was not a bit surprised by his request and after seeing his dedication to his studies first hand, did not foresee any problems and promised to put in his request with the examination board. The snogging session that followed his declaration, with an extremely proud Hermione was memorable to both.

They were also able to finish animagus transformations and achieve their forms that month. Upon transformation, in place of Harry, there standing was a fearsome predator. Underneath the silky smooth black skin were muscles powerful enough not only to chase down prey but also to haul it on to the tallest trees. The fully extended 2 inch claws and needle sharp incisors coupled with jaws like a steel vice could put fear into the strongest of enemies. Though not as strong as Harry, Hermione was no less impressive as a lioness. Their teamwork and coordination even in their animagus forms was astounding. They knew that rather than in combat the enhanced senses of the feline forms would be more useful in stealth and wilderness survival.

Professor McGonagall was never more proud in her life than after seeing Harry and Hermione in their feline forms. She openly acknowledged that Hermione was her favourite student after Lily Evans-Potter but her son always had a special place in her heart. Now seeing them achieve something only a few people were able to do, she began considering them as her cubs from that moment on and like a mother shepherded them around. Even though her form was a tabby cat, her demeanor could command respect from the two powerful cats.

She began considering herself as a mother to the family starved young man and Hermione as her Daughter-in-law. She desperately wanted to acknowledge the feelings openly but she was never a demonstrative person and so her actions were not so evident to Harry and Hermione. Her intentions were also reflected in the way she treated them outside the classroom always welcoming them with open heart and arms.


	14. Chapter 14

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14:<strong>

Harry's yearning to go on a mission to locate and destroy a horcrux was finally realized when Professor Dumbledore invited him to accompany him. Though elated, Harry had a nagging feeling that things would not go smoothly that evening. One look at Draco Malfoy would convince even the hardened skeptics as his strut was back after lying dormant all year and there was a spring in his step. Harry feared that with Dumbledore away from the castle, Malfoy would unleash his plot of terror. Giving the vial of liquid luck, Felix Felicis, which he won from Slughorn in the potions class to Hermione he cautioned her to have the Maraurder's map with her always and left the castle with Professor Dumbledore.

Harry was trained by the best that Hogwarts had to offer and with the level of proficiency obtained, considered himself ready to take on any challenge that Voldemort had to offer. But the trip to the cave on the seashore turned out to be a humbling experience in itself. Harry wanted to take some time to get a complete understanding of the dangers they faced inside the cave but Dumbledore pushed for a quick resolution to the problem they faced in his typical high handed approach. Harry however felt that if Dumbledore had not ordered him not to interfere, the result would have been a lot different. He was fuming that Dumbledore did not consider him as a trained wizard even though the headmaster did not have a complete knowledge of Harry's accomplishments and training program. He was regularly able to out duel even Professor Flitwick who was regarded as a master dueler and his quick reflexes honed during hours of practice would have been an added advantage. Regardless of all, Harry was forced to submit to the prejudiced judgment of Dumbledore as he was bound to the vow of non-interference given earlier.

As it was, he was forced to feed a debilitating poison to Dumbledore for retrieving Slytherin's locket that was converted into a horcrux by Lord Voldemort. Harry suspected that Dumbledore took that particular route in order to end his life quickly and quietly as the curse on his hand was beginning to slowly kill the aged wizard. It was also an abject lesson about the potential dangers that he may have to face during the horcrux hunt and its subsequent destruction.

After securing the locket, Harry with occasional assistance from a weakened Dumbledore fought off an army of inferi enough for them to make a hasty retreat. Grabbing hold of the headmaster he apparated him to Hogsmeade, and grabbing a couple of brooms from Madam Rosemerta of the 'Three Broomsticks' rushed towards Hogwarts and medical aid. They however were greeted with a sight of a group of death eaters being slowly cornered onto the astronomy tower and Dumbledore ignored Harry's protests before alighting onto the tower. In his concern for the headmaster he did not see Dumbledore casting a silencing spell behind his back followed by a full body bind which totally incapacitated Harry. Dumbledore finally disillusioned him and left him in a corner on the tower and waited for what he knew was his death.

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><p>As soon as Harry and Dumbledore left the castle, Hermione activated the Marauder's map and began a vigil with racing heart. An hour into the vigil she spied Draco Malfoy leading a dozen death eaters from the Room of Requirement. She immediately shot of her patronus with a message for Professor McGonagall alerting her about the threat to the inhabitants of the castle. Sharing the potion of liquid luck with Neville and Luna, who to her consternation refused to leave her side, Hermione assisted professors McGonagall and Flitwick in shepherding the death eaters away from the populated areas of the castle. Only Remus Lupin was able to respond to the call for assistance sent to the members of the 'order of the phoenix' and by the time he arrived the remaining death eaters who survived the counter attack reached the top of the astronomy tower only to run into a waiting Dumbledore.<p>

The feeling of relief experienced by the defenders quickly turned to dismay as they witnessed the death of the purported 'leader of light' at the hands of Severus Snape. The shock of the event allowed the death eaters to escape leaving their dead comrades behind easily slipping past the astounded six. Released from the body bind Harry raced after Snape and Malfoy screaming in rage and casting curse after curse at their fleeing forms. Hermione recovering quickly followed him adding her own curses. Between them the two were able to injure a few others and to their satisfaction, Draco Malfoy ended up critically wounded. Reaching the ward boundary and hauling Malfoy with him, Snape managed to disapperate taking Draco side along.

The news of Dumbledore's death spread shock waves all through the castle in a matter of minutes and though Britain by the next morning. Though Harry was vindicated in his suspicions of Draco Malfoy he could not feel any elation at the knowledge. The anger at Dumbledore in not heeding his warnings and placing his trust in Snape far outweighed any grief at his death. He was also bitter at being rendered useless inside the cave and later on the top of the tower which in his opinion played an important part in Dumbledore's death.

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><p>The funeral that took place a couple of days later was a somber affair. Harry managed to evade all the questions and refused to speak at the funeral. He was angry at the minister of magic who regarded it as an appropriate time to interrogate him regarding their whereabouts on the fateful day. Hermione's calming presence throughout the ordeal was the only thing that prevented an eruption of his temper and probably saved the minister's limbs.<p>

Later that night cuddling with Hermione on his warded bed, Harry was finally able to narrate all that happened in the cave, "I am angry at Dumbledore, Hermione. For a wise old man how can he be so immature to think that he is invincible or that he has all the answers? He did not even consider my assistance to be of use to him. What pissed me off was that there were so many easy ways to get rid of the poison instead of drinking it but he refused to even hear me out." Letting out sigh of frustration he continued, "He was without a doubt a great man, but I think his attitude was his main failing. I do not know why he did not share all the details of the horcruxes with anyone, not even with me. How are we supposed to hunt them down without adequate knowledge?"

"Yes I agree with you Harry. But I think that he was trying to protect you. On the other hand he knew that he was going to die especially with the curse on his hand, but did not take the time to ensure a backup plan. To put his faith in Snape, what was he thinking?"

Harry scoffed, "It's not that I do not appreciate it, but he cannot always protect me Hermione. Especially now, with him gone." After a few moments of silent contemplation on their part, he continued, "This attack proves how woefully unprepared the wizarding world is to face a direct attack from Voldemort. With Dumbledore gone people will panic and Voldemort will get bold. For all his greatness Dumbledore did nothing to get the people prepared. Yes it is the duty of the ministry to safeguard the populace, but with his popularity and political clout he should have done more."

Hermione concurred, "He should have taken a few people into confidence and then discussed with them all the possibilities." Giving Harry an affectionate squeeze, "Even though you will have me by your side, it is unfair to put the burden on you, however powerful or well-trained you are. It is not your responsibility. I know you will not even consider it, but what if you decide to leave the country and not to do the job? What will happen then?"

* * *

><p>The castle was mostly empty with the students leaving after Dumbledore's funeral. Exams for the rest of the years except NEWTs. and OWLs. have been cancelled and the students took advantage of the extra free days to get out of the gloomy castle and return to their family. Some of the students like Ron were ecstatic that they escaped the exams or he may have had to repeat his sixth year with Ginny. The extra class free days gave Harry and Hermione the opportunity to spend their time in the library. While harry was busy preparing for his Ancient Runes O.W.L exam, Hermione scoured the library for whatever information she can find for their benefit, dwelling into the restricted section of the library with McGonagall's permission.<p>

After Harry's exam, Harry and Hermione took the floo connection from the 'Three Broomsticks' in Hogsmeade and travel to the 'Leaky Cauldron' in London. Making a decision not to go to the Burrow and also skip attending Bill and Fleur's wedding, they decide to hole out at Grimmauld place. Before going there Harry decided to visit the Dursleys and warn them to move house.

Stopping in Diagon Alley to outfit themselves with bottom less and weight less backpacks and a wizarding tent, they crossed into muggle London to stock up on outdoor clothes and enough winter wear to last what they believed will be an extended camping trip. Harry and Hermione arrived at Privet drive to glares and scowling faces. While Dudley was shocked to learn that the beautiful woman with his cousin was his fiancée, the adults gave them a warning that they do not want to see any 'unnaturalness and inappropriate behavior' under their roof. Not to inconvenience his aunt by their late arrival, Harry decided to order take away menu for all of them. Even though their reception was frosty, they managed to calm Uncle Vernon enough to agree him to listen to their explanation. Through dinner Harry and Hermione talked and managed to convey the seriousness of the situation, "… I know that you do not like me or anything to do with my world but you find yourself inadvertently in the crossfires of the war and even though I may not like you, I do not want you dead" Harry concluded.

"Where is your headmaster, the bearded guy? He promised to keep us safe" Vernon blustered.

Exchanging a glance which conveyed that they now understand why Harry was forced to this house every summer, Harry answered "he was murdered a few days ago by his own friend and a professor from the school, Snape."

All heads turned towards Petunia who could not stifle her gasp of surprise, "I know that man, and he was friends with Lily even before school. He used to live next door to us during our childhood."

Harry pushed his argument home, "Do you understand why I do not want you to stay here? That man knows about you Aunt Petunia and the first place they will look for me is here. We managed to convince Hermione's parents to leave the country and after this we will be going into hiding also" though not entirely true Harry thought that would convince them to agree to them.

With the wind knocked out of his sails, Vernon quickly agreed to put the house up for rent and move to his sister Marge Dursley's house for a few days before finding a suitable place to live in. He also wondered if he can move to a new job as his place of work may also be known to the death eaters. Finally late into the night the occupants of the house drifted off to their rooms. Harry and Hermione trudged up into his bedroom and fell asleep together on Harry's small bed with a new mattress that Aunt Petunia grudgingly provided for Hermione's sake.

A couple of days later on the day the Drusleys were to leave, Hermione found herself alone in the kitchen with Petunia early in the morning. Petunia reluctantly acknowledged that Hermione was a part of their family now, "I know that I failed in my duty as an aunt to take care of Harry. I can only hope that Lily would forgive me whenever I meet her." With a tender hand on Hermione's cheek she continued, "I can see that you are good for him. Please take care of yourselves, I would like to see you get married and hope to see a younger Lily in your kids. Then maybe I can atone for my behavior."

Hermione could only nod her head in surprise at Petunia's admission. She knew that Harry wanted to be accepted by his relatives and so tried her best to breach the divide, "You may have to wait for a few more years for that though. We decided to wait till we get married before we get intimate and that too after we graduate. Merlin only knows how long this war is going to take." Surprising even herself Petunia gave a quick hug and left to get ready for the day. The Dursleys left their house the same afternoon after putting all their personal belongings in storage. Harry and Hermione elected to wait for a week more till the new tenants arrive to occupy the house and then move to Grimmauld place.

* * *

><p>Harry inherited the house at 12 Grimmauld place from Sirius and was under the fidelius charm with Professor Dumbledore as the secret keeper. With his death and Snape publically declaring his allegiance to Voldemort, the house in the current state was not safe. So with the help of Professor Flitwick, the house was made unplottable and the fidelius charm was recast with Hermione as the secret keeper. Even then they decided to keep magic use to the minimum in order to not give any excuse to the ministry to pull Harry up on charges of underage magic use. Even though they were virtually prisoners in the house and without any spell casting practice to spend the time, Harry and Hermione began to enthusiastically delve through the books on dark arts in the library researching for a means to counter them.<p>

The only time that they left the safety of the headquarters was on Harry's birthday to get his apparition license and also to collect bequeaths from Professor Dumbledore's will. They were called to the minister of magic Rufus Scrimgeour's office who was still trying to get Harry to endorse the ministry policy of fighting the death eaters which sadly was doing nothing. Harry was adamant in his refusal and the minister had to finally release the items, the snitch that Harry caught in his first game and a deilluminator, which was fabricated by Dumbledore himself.

Hermione was left Dumbledore's personal copy of a book titled 'Tales of Beedle the Bard'. The minister however refused to give them the sword of Gryffindor as it was confiscated by the unspeakables as a valuable artifact. A livid Harry only calmed down when the minister threatened to have him arrested under the guise of attacking the minister. By the same token they refused to answer the minister when he tried to get them to reveal the significance of the gifts. It was a stalemate that neither party was willing to resolve.

On their way out of the ministry they collected Harry's Ancient Runes O.W.L result which was 'outstanding' much to their pleasure. He was very well rewarded by Hermione on their return to Grimmauld Place by snogging him to within an inch of his logic.

* * *

><p>Their decision not to attend Bill's wedding a few days after Harry's birthday was vindicated when they learnt that the party was crashed by Voldemort's forces looking for them. Their absence prevented any injuries to the wedding party for which Harry was happy. The ministry was finally taken over by Lord Voldemort after killing Scrimgeour forcing many of the light sided citizens into hiding as they were not expecting such a bold move. They also learnt that they were at the very top of the list of people to be eliminated quickly earning the titles 'Undesirables One and Two'.<p>

Harry and Hermione also decided to confide with others the reasons for Lord Voldemort's refusal to die. They were not naïve to think that they can defeat the dark lord alone and also as insurance should anything happen to them. They invited Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Lupin and also Tonks when they came to know that they were married and disclosed all the details regarding the horcurxes and the prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort. To say that McGonagall was pissed was an understatement, "What was Albus thinking to keep this a secret from everyone? Yes I agree that the less number of people who know about this the better. Does he not trust any of us? To leave things for you to mop up after him! I am going to have words with him once he wakes up in his portrait." Looking at Harry's bemused expression she rounded on him, "What?"

Harry raised his hands in surrender, "Believe me Professor, my reactions were the same, it's just that Hermione and I had a long discussion on this after the funeral. Our conclusions are similar to yours but we have no choice but to go ahead now."

Remus wanted to accompany the teens on their mission but Harry shot him down, "we do not want anyone to be associated with us and face the ministry's wrath. Your job is to take care of Tonks and the kid. Besides we will be moving around the country hunting for them and the less number of people the better for secrecy. As undesirables one and two we have that privilege."

No amount of cajoling swayed Harry and Hermione, leaving the adults with no option but to agree not to tell even the other members of the 'Order of the Phoenix' or the Weasleys. They agreed to keep on researching about the possible objects and their locations and keep in touch with Harry and Hermione.

**The hunt was finally on!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15:<strong>

**Ten months later:**

Months of travelling around the country dodging ministry sponsored snatchers, death eaters, hunting and destroying horcruxes finally brought Harry and Hermione to Hogwarts for a final confrontation with Lord Voldemort. After surviving another killing curse from Voldemort due to the horcrux in his body, the prophecy that was a thorn in Harry's side since his birth was finally fulfilled. The killing curse that Voldemort cast at Harry rebounded on him ending the life of the worst wizard after Grindelwald, as the Elder wand refused to harm Harry, its true master. Ending the suffering of millions of people, Voldemort was finally killed at Harry's hand moments after Hermione finished his top lieutenant, Bellatrix Lestrange with a cutting curse aimed at her throat.

Sitting on the steps leading into the castle, Harry was joined by Hermione and they snuggled into each other ignoring the others. While the rest of the world was celebrating they were left to grieve the fallen warriors, countless of whom were unknown to them but especially Remus and Nymphadora Lupin, Fred Weasley, Colin Creevey, Dumbledore and even Severus Snape who turned out to be on their side after all. If Harry and Hermione thought that the heavy burden on their shoulders would be lifted after Voldemort's defeat they were sadly mistaken as they felt that their souls were tainted by the deaths of many innocents. They were joined by Professors McGonagall and Flitwick who knew the real extent of the hardships they faced to defeat the dark lord. Finally letting go of their emotions the four were able to cleanse their souls and felt free for the first time for more than a year.

* * *

><p>The funerals for the Lupins and Fred were the next occasion that brought more tears to the pair. They did their best to console a distraught Andromeda Tonks who lost not only her husband but also her daughter and son-in-law within a matter of months. Harry and Hermione offered to take little Teddy Lupin off her hands but she wanted to take care of her grandson and regarded him as a lifeline for her sanity.<p>

The throngs of people waiting for an opportunity to meet their heroes failed to realize that Harry and Hermione wanted nothing to do with their congratulations. With people following them everywhere they could not get enough privacy to grieve in silence and recover from the ordeal of running around the country with barely enough food to eat. So they finally decided to visit Hermione's parents who were now working in Nigeria for the British Red Cross, as a means of relaxation and giving them the good news. Promising to contact Andromeda and McGonagall as soon as they come back, the pair quietly disappeared from public view for a month's holiday.

Enjoying the bright sunshine offered by the prairie lands and in the company of loved ones, Harry and Hermione slowly left the ghosts of the war and their torrid past behind. Good food and plenty of rest brought them back into their old selves and they began to enjoy the holiday filling their days roaming the country and occasional romps in the wide lands in their animagus forms.

As promised Harry proposed to Hermione in front of her parents under a moonlit sky in the Nigerian wilderness. Taking a break from their hectic work Dan and Emma Granger accompanied the teens on a camping trip and enjoyed a night in front of a camp fire after Harry's proposal. With a promise to extend the rental lease on their house and to wait till their graduation before getting married Harry and Hermione returned back to Britain after a well-deserved holiday.

* * *

><p>Their good mood vanished on return when they met Andromeda Tonks. The loss of her family hit the elderly witch harder than she cared to admit and with the stress of looking after a very energetic baby, her health was rapidly deteriorating. Harry and Hermione spent some time trying to get her spirits up and even the intervention of the healers at St. Mungos' did not help. It was a very somber couple that met Mrs. Tonks in her house and Harry tried to put her concerns to rest and probably for the first time took a decision without consulting Hermione, "please do not worry about Teddy Mrs. Tonks, I have decided to legally adopt him. That will ensure his well-being." After arranging with her to collect them both early next day, Harry and Hermione left the house.<p>

Harry led Hermione to a small park near Mrs. Tonks house and began, "I am sorry sweetheart I should not have taken that decision without consulting you. After all you are going to be Teddy's mother."

"It's alright Harry, I know that you are doing the right thing and I love Teddy." Happy that they did not have to fight over a good thing the couple returned to Grimmauld Place for the night.

The next morning they were met with some resistance in the child services department, "I am sorry Mr. Potter but you cannot register Miss Granger as the mother. You are not married, and no being engaged does not give make her suitable in the eyes of the law."

Even though Harry was angry, he did not want to make a scene and Hermione's hand on his arm calmed him down sufficiently. Exchanging an all-encompassing glance with Hermione, he decided "Alright then, please register Miss Hermione Granger as the godmother and the next in line to get the custody after me. Then it will be Daniel and Emma Granger with Arthur and Molly Weasley as the final couple."

It was only a few days later that they were left with the entire responsibility of taking care of Theodore Lupin Potter as Andromeda Tonks finally succumbed to her grief. The brief ceremony was attended by only a very few people most notably Professors McGonagall and Flitwick.

Carrying a sleeping Teddy in his arms, Harry and Hermione were intercepted by McGonagall to discuss their return to Hogwarts. "I know that it may be difficult for you with having to take care of Teddy, but have you planned to return to Hogwarts for your N.E.?"

Hermione answered, "Yes Professor, we want to finish our schooling" and with a wry smile continued, "Hopefully with Voldemort gone we will finally have a quiet year."

Sharing a chuckle with the two McGonagall continued, "Then I would like you two to be the heads this year."

Harry objected immediately, "Thanks for the offer headmistress but we think it would be better if two of the new seventh years get the positions. After all we missed a year of schooling."

"Oh! Do not worry. The last year was an abomination on schooling with death eaters in place of teachers. Due to this the governors and the faculty have decided not to promote any students, there were no N.E. anyway and no students graduated. All the students will have to repeat the year so you have not missed a school year." She turned pensive, "Besides we need strong leaders to recover from the lack of discipline for the last, dare I say, three years. Umbridge left a lot of problems which have still to be sorted out."

She saw that the two were communicating in their own trademark glances and drove the point home, "look at this way, you will have separate rooms of your own and will not be a problem for the little tyke."

That swayed both of them and they quickly accepted the proposal and as a parting shot McGonagall gave them some advice, "You should talk to Winky and get her to take care of Teddy during classes. Kreacher may be a good elf but I think he is too old to run after an exuberant toddler."

* * *

><p>Spending months traipsing around the country while sharing a single bath in a small tent removed any body modesty between Harry and Hermione. Though they decided to wait till their wedding night to make love, they still found ways to mutually satisfy their sexual hunger. After riding the crest of their orgasms, the tired but thoroughly satisfied couple cuddled together in the master bedroom at 12 Grimmauld Place. Catching his breath with Hermione resting her head on his chest, Harry voiced his concerns about their future "I wanted to open a trust vault for Teddy but our finances are not large enough to do it properly. Following the wills of Remus and Tonks, I got the goblins to consolidate their savings and transferred them into a vault in Teddy's name." Letting out a sigh, he continued "The sale of Mrs. Tonks' house netted a fair amount of gold but most of it was used up to clear their debts. The entire amount is now in Teddy's vault but unfortunately, it is not a sizeable amount."<p>

"How much is in there harry?"

"The final amount is about 20,000 galleons Hermione." Sensing her disbelief Harry clarified, "Yeah! Apparently they were in heavy debts, Mr. Tonks did not have a proper job for some years and you know about Remus. Most of Tonks' salary went towards clearing her educational loan" Harry sighed.

After a few moments of contemplation Hermione offered, "My parents wanted me to use the money for the house rent as a coming of age gift, Harry. Unfortunately, due to their charity work they are forced to use their savings for their living. We can put some of that money in Teddy's vault."

"Hermione, converting that into galleons will not give us much. As we have some money in Teddy's vault already, it is better to save it for any other children we may have." Seeing her blush Harry countered, "You want to have kids right."

Hermione immediately exclaimed "of course" after swatting him on his chest, gave him a quick squeeze and a kiss in answer.

Harry continued "We will start putting some part of our salary into Teddy's trust and some into a separate vault for our other kids from next year. Adding on to what you are saving from your parent's house rent it will be a good amount. It is not much but we will manage."

"We will manage Harry, we always do. We will have some money left from your trust vault, as it is we do not need much to live and we already have this house. Teddy has 20,000 galleons to his name and it is a good start and we will build on it once we start earning."

* * *

><p>The opening feast at Hogwarts also hosted the ceremony to award 'Order of Merlin' to a few people. Harry, Hermione and posthumously Severus Snape were honoured for their resilience and unparalleled bravery in combating the threat of lord Voldemort. After the end of the ceremony and the feast, Kingsley Shaklebolt, the interim minister pulled Harry and Hermione away and whispered, "The ministry is short of cash and so we are unable to give you the 50,000 galleons that go with the award. The ministry has to undergo an audit of the finances and I hope that by Christmas time everything will be sorted out and you will get the gold."<p>

Harry was disappointed; the gold would have helped them in boosting their finances and allow them to add more money to Teddy's vault bringing up the amount to 50,000. Putting up a brave face he whispered back, "It's alright Kingsley, we will manage somehow."

Their last year at Hogwarts was quickly coming to an end. Harry and Hermione were glad to have a normal year for a change, well as normal as you can expect taking care of a toddler and head duties. The love they had for each other and for little Teddy Potter meant that the days were filled with happiness and laughter. Unfortunately for them, Shaklebolt was not elected as the minister and was replaced by a wizard from an old family which valued traditions and pureblood philosophy. By Christmas, the departments at the ministry underwent massive personnel changes and in the ensuing melee the small issue of giving the 'Order of Merlin' prize money to Harry and Hermione was forgotten.

Finally at the end of the school year Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Granger graduated with distinction. Harry earned 'outstanding' in the subjects Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration all that he sat for. Hermione also achieved the same grades in all the subjects, also taking Arithmancy, setting a record for the highest marks for N.E. overtaking Lily Evans's record. Leaving with fond memories of the institution that they spent more than eight years of their lives in, the newly graduating students left to forge new career paths.

One month after their graduation, the newly wed Harry James and Hermione Jane Potter along with 18 month old Teddy Lupin Potter, began their new life hoping for a time free of struggles and filled with love, laughs and cheerful kids.

**THE END**


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